The Games We Play
by foxyphoenix87
Summary: Harmony had been Mark's best friend for quite some time now, and she was happy with the way things were. But one day she realized things had changed, and it's turning her world upside down. (Markiplier x OC)
1. One: The Game of Friendship

_April 2015_

Harmony grinned as she tried the handle of her front door to find it already unlocked. She had a feeling he would be here, considering what time it was. The subtle glow of her TV from the front room accompanied the warm orange of the evening sun to bathe her apartment in a soft glow. As she made her way towards the kitchen to set her numerous bags of groceries onto the table, she gazed over at the back of the couch that sat across from the TV and, sure enough, spotted a fluffy tuft of jet black hair poking out from over the top of it. She grinned widely as she shook her head, heading over towards that tuft of hair to tousle it between her fingers. The man attached to that hair looked up with a start, but smiled cheerily when he saw her, pulling his headphones off of his ears to rest them around his neck and pausing the music on his phone.

"Hey, welcome home!" he greeted her as she leaned her elbows onto the back of her couch to give him a smile.

"Thanks," Harmony replied, still grinning as she pushed herself upright from the couch to head back into the kitchen and tend to her groceries. "Done playing games for the day, Mr. Markiplier?"

Mark spun around in his seat on the couch to eye her blonde head in the kitchen. "Done playing games? Never! Done recording? Ehh... for now." He heard her chuckle as he hoisted himself off the couch to join her, pulling out a box of Cheerios from the nearest plastic sack to store it up in the pantry. "What's for dinner?" he wanted to know.

Harmony shrugged. "I was thinking about making stir fry, or maybe lemon chicken." She pulled out lemon seasoning as well as hoisin sauce from a grocery sack. "I bought stuff for both."

Mark slid in behind her and smoothly yanked the hoisin sauce out of her hand. "I'm cooking tonight," he proclaimed, gently pushing her out of her own kitchen.

"What? Why?" Harmony sputtered with a laugh. "What're you doing? I'm not even done with the groceries-"

"Hey," he cut in, giving her one of his trademark looks from over the top of his glasses, "if I remember correctly, you came over to my place yesterday and ended up making tilapia for you, me, Matt and Ryan in _my_ kitchen. So it's only fair."

"But the groceries-"

"Got 'em! Now go!" He waved her away.

Harmony laughed and held her hands up in surrender, making her way back to the couch to sit where Mark had been.

This was just another typical day for them, as it had been for the past year after Harmony moved into an apartment just down the next hall from Mark and his roommates Ryan and Matt. And no, that hadn't been a coincidence. Harmony was a YouTube personality like he was - known as Harpie to her fans - and when she had made the decision to move down to Los Angeles from up north for her career, he had actually helped her get this apartment. They chatted constantly after collaborating with each other and a few other YouTubers for a charity event. They became best friends overnight, so when she told him she wanted to move down south he jumped on the opportunity to get her right here without her even asking. She didn't even need to apartment hunt. He got the information for her and the rent was in her budget, so that was that. It was the fastest and smoothest move she had ever experienced. He even helped her lug all of her boxes up the stairs.

Now, even though they had their separate responsibilities and careers, one always ended up at the other's place to hang out nearly every night. It had gotten to the point where they had copies of each other's keys. They were so comfortable with each other coming and going as they pleased that it was like they themselves were roommates. And she appreciated Mark so much, especially since he was literally the only person she knew here when she first moved. But now her YouTube channel had been growing substantially, and her other job as a columnist had really improved as well since her move. She knew tons of people here now; she had lots of fans and several friends. But Mark was always her favorite person in the whole world. They had a funny friendship, but she loved it the way it was.

A friendship. Yup.

She hadn't realized she had drifted so far off into her thoughts for so long until the scent something delicious reached her nose. She inhaled slowly and grinned as she tuned her ears to the sound of her best friend puttering around in her kitchen, faintly humming a random tune to himself. Her stomach growled just as he announced that dinner was ready.

* * *

"Thank you for dinner," Harmony said as she helped Mark clear the table. She had tried shooing him away from it since he had cooked, but he still insisted on helping clean anyway and she gave up.

"You're welcome," he replied easily. "Now, on to the rest of our Friday night."

Harmony raised a brow. "You sound like a man with a plan," she remarked.

Mark grinned. "Maybe I am."

"You don't have anything going on with the boys tonight? No crazy video challenges or house parties?"

"Nah," he replied with a shrug, "I was so busy today that I'd rather just chill with you tonight."

Harmony's fists balled up at her hips as she mock-glared at him. "And how do you know I don't have plans tonight? What if I have a hot date at some after party downtown?"

Mark huffed in amusement from where he stood rinsing plates at the sink. "You don't," he retorted confidently. "You would've told me otherwise." He wiped his hands off on the hanging dish towel and sauntered back over to the couch. "Come on," he beckoned as he fell back into the cool black leather. "We got a movie to watch and then games to dominate."

"We do?" Harmony wondered as she followed him over.

"Yeah. You still haven't seen the newest Avengers movie. Don't worry - I brought it!" He patted the couch beside him and wiggled his eyebrows. "M'lady."

Harmony was grinning again as Mark started the movie that he apparently already had in her PlayStation. She sat beside him, her head immediately finding its usual place against his shoulder as his arm automatically draped around her, giving her a brief squeeze before relaxing. He found one of her thick blonde curls and slowly wrapped it around his finger as the opening credits cycled through the beginning of the movie. She smiled to herself as she took in the familiar and comforting scent of his cologne, feeling her body truly relax with a full belly and an evening with her best friend.

This was what she always thought of whenever she described their friendship as a funny one - the cuddling. Before Mark, she had never sat or laid like this with anyone who wasn't her boyfriend. But with him, it was different. She wasn't sure when exactly it started or who even started it, but this had become a natural thing between them. Maybe it was just because they both happened to be open and touchy-feely people. They never talked about it, but they both found peace in it. And it never went any further than this or meant anything more than it was, although sometimes their friends would tease them about being a hot item whenever they got caught being close like this. They would blush and separate to try and defend themselves and fend off the teasing friend, but it was all in good fun. Because Harmony and Mark were just friends.

Best friends.

That was all.

Somewhere in the very back of Harmony's mind, she sometimes wondered if allowing them to be this close and open with each other was really a good idea or not in the long run. But the back of her mind was where she liked to keep that thought. No dwelling on something like that. They would cross that bridge if and when they came to it. No big deal.

Because they were just friends. Right?

* * *

 _Hi, friends! Thanks for reading my first Markiplier fic! I hope you all enjoy it and leave me some epic feedback! Btw, I do realize that this fic isn't entirely accurate due to the fact I don't think Matt and Ryan moved in with Mark until they got the house I believe? But either way, I hope you'll forgive me for that. It fit the story too well to change it. :) ~Foxy_


	2. Two: The Game of Denial

Harmony's hands abruptly came to a halt over her keyboard as she heard her front door open and close harshly. She paused a bit longer to listen to the familiar sounds of her best friend's footsteps, but as she glanced over the last few lines of text she had typed, the footsteps came to a sudden stop and an uncharacteristic silence ensued in her home.

Most of her weekend had been spent here at her computer recording videos for YouTube as LetHarpiePlay. It was a gaming channel that she kept updated once a day with game reviews, playthroughs, and weekend top 10 countdowns. But once that was finished for the time being, she dedicated the rest of her time working on an article for her boss that really needed to be finished tonight. Fortunately she was able to get out for a while on Saturday to enjoy her day outside and meet with Mark for lunch before taking care of some errands. Yesterday was one of the rare days when she didn't see Mark, but from frequent exchanges of text messages she knew he had a busy Sunday planned and that was fine since she really needed to work on her article. Today, however, he hadn't texted her all day, which wasn't exactly unheard of, but it usually meant he was either behind schedule or something had interrupted his plans.

Usually he had sought her out by now in whatever room she was in, but as the silence continued to stretch on she began to feel the need to find him instead. She abandoned her work on the computer for now and wandered out from her room.

"Mark?" she called softly as she made her way down the hall. She furrowed her brow in slight concern when she came into the living room and there found a certain dark-haired man sprawled out across the length of her couch, face down as if he had quite literally just fallen onto it. Gently, she took a seat beside his head, lightly brushing a few strands of his hair aside to try and get a peek at his face. His eyes were closed and a frown had been creased into his forehead. "Hey," she murmured to him.

"Hmm," was the only quiet response she received, mostly muffled by the couch cushion.

"Bad Monday?" she asked.

"Hmmph," came the groan again. Finally he shifted just enough to free the rest of his face from the cushion, but he didn't bother to open his eyes. "Headache," he muttered.

Ah. Now she understood. "Bad game?" she guessed. "Did you rage too much?"

"Yeah, I got mad," he admitted.

She sighed. It didn't happen that often and even in the few times it did he didn't always come out of it in a bad way, but things didn't always go so smoothly. Her fingers absently combed through his hair and she watched the soft strands gradually slip through them. "What can I do for you?" she eventually asked.

He moved again, only just enough to turn onto his side and scoot up to rest his head against her thigh clad in the soft black fabric of the sweatpants she had on since she had been cooped up writing all day. "Just stay here with me," he said.

Harmony smiled faintly at his request. "Okay," she whispered. She remembered the unfinished article waiting for her in her room, but suddenly it didn't really seem quite as important as staying right here with Mark. She was almost done with it anyway. She could finish it before she went to bed.

She let her gaze fall on his still form, wondering exactly when he had managed to lodge himself so deeply in her heart that she would drop whatever she was doing to help him. She had had a handful of best friends in her life so far, but none of them even held a candle to this. She was truly blessed to have someone like Mark in her life, and it was the least she could do to be here for him when he needed it.

"Thank you," he murmured, pulling her out of her musings. He reached up to catch her hand in his hair, laying his own on top of it to squeeze it for just a moment before letting her resume.

And for a reason she could not explain, butterflies fluttered in her stomach and her voice caught in her throat.

What in the world?

Quite confused by her rather strange reaction, she suddenly felt the need to distract herself and derail whatever train of thought her mind was conjuring. She leaned over to grab a book on the end table she had started reading some time ago. Shrugging to herself and mentally shaking off... whatever that weird feeling was, she flipped to her bookmark and immersed her thoughts in reading instead of her best friend.

She almost made it through three chapters before she began to realize that the weight against her leg had gotten a bit heavier and his deep, steady breathing was the only sound filling the room. A smile played at the corners of her lips as she returned her book to the end table where she had left it last and carefully bent over to catch another glimpse of his face to check on him. Just as she thought, he was out, glasses all askew. He probably fell asleep shortly after she started reading, she surmised. She didn't blame him. She could see today had been rough on him.

She felt a yawn coming on and decided that sleep was indeed a good idea, but as she stretched her arms over her head she was reminded once again about her article that still demanded her attention and stood between her and that sleep she was wanting to get to. She groaned internally and silently reprimanded herself for letting it wait. But then again, she thought as her gaze fell back down to the sleeping man on her lap, she wasn't really sorry she let it wait after all. She wouldn't want to miss out on moments like this.

With one last run of fingers through soft black strands, she ever-so-carefully reached over him to the throw pillow that she was very grateful he wasn't laying on. Slowly - and reluctantly - she replaced her lap with the pillow, feeling pretty accomplished when she succeeded without waking him. Once she was up, she gently pulled his glasses off to set them on the end table before going to lock the front door that he had left open, and quickly she fetched a fleece blanket from the hall closet to lay over him. She didn't know if he would sleep through the night or if he would wake up in a few hours and go back to his own bed, but at least he would be comfortable here for the time being. Satisfied with her care taking skills, she meant to turn and head back to her room, but her gaze lingered on his serene expression longer than she meant it to. But this time she caught her mind wandering and felt herself blushing madly for staring.

 _Get a hold of yourself, crazy,_ she silently scolded herself. _You need sleep._

With that, she turned off the light to retire to her room, but not before stealing one last glance back at him, wondering if he would be there in the morning.


	3. Three: The Game of Uncertainty

The incessant blaring of her stupid alarm clock jolted her out of her brief slumber the next morning. Her hand came hurtling down upon it, smacking the snooze button with way more force than her more-awake-self would have exerted. Her eyes groggily fluttered open only to be met with a curtain of wild blonde curls hanging in her face. She grunted angrily and tossed her head back to fling her hair away before yanking her warm, inviting comforter over her head. She swore she had just gotten to sleep. How on earth was it already 7am?

She had finally submitted her article to her boss last night at 3am after staying up with Mark until almost 1. She had painfully underestimated how long it would take to finish it, and boy was she paying for it now. She swore under her breath as some of the morning sunlight tried to creep under her warm cocoon of quilt and blanket, closing her eyes tightly and refusing to emerge for at least a few more minutes. But unfortunately, her mind was already beginning to buzz with all of the things she needed to do today, nagging at her not to procrastinate.

And then the alarm went off again.

Harmony shot up, her blankets off in a flourish of blue as she silenced her alarm with an aggravated grunt. She had never really been a morning person, and lacking sleep was like salt on a wound. She was going to need a lot of coffee today.

That was when she smelled the smooth, strong aroma of toasted hazelnut. Suddenly curious, she dragged her complaining body from her blanket sanctuary and slung a fuzzy white robe around herself before she followed the enticing smell down the hall. The blinds had been opened in her living room, letting the April sunlight pour into her apartment. The couch was empty, she noticed with a slight pang; the fleece blanket was folded up nicely beside the throw pillow. But the smell beckoned her further, into the kitchen where she found a piping hot mug of hazelnut coffee already waiting for her in her Keurig, freshly brewed. On top of the machine was a yellow sticky note. **Thank you!** it read in Mark's big handwriting. **Come over tonight!**

He must have just left.

Harmony took the steaming mug into her hands and grinned into it as she took a slow sip, butterflies taking flight in her stomach again which she pointedly ignored. Instead she decided she was hungry.

After a banana and a yogurt parfait, Harmony hurried back into her room to start getting ready for the day. She had a meeting with her boss today at his office about her new project, and as soon as she got home from that she needed to record some content for YouTube. And then after that...

She halted her thoughts with a furrowed brow when she caught herself grinning like an idiot in the reflection of her bathroom mirror. What in the world was she so giddy about? She was just going over to Mark's place tonight, nothing special; nothing she hadn't done countless times before. She could even predict what their evening would consist of: someone making dinner for the whole apartment, maybe a live stream of some sort, and then demolishing each other in something like Left 4 Dead or Mario Kart. And that was fine. She loved hanging out over there, but it was nothing special. It was no reason to be acting like a schoolgirl with a crush-

Her eyes widened at that word as she stared into her reflection's brown irises. Was that really how she was acting?

"No," she grumbled at the mirror, hastily running her fingers through her thick blonde curls to try and tame them a little. "I'm just overreacting."

After a quick change into a red pencil skirt and white blouse, she applied her makeup and brushed her teeth in record timing, mostly because her daydreaming had put her a little behind schedule. She was pretty sure she was ready, but she needed one last look in the mirror to be sure.

She had to admit - her hair was on point. She had just recently been to her hairstylist, so everything was crisp and clean-cut. Her hair had always been super thick since she was a kid, but her mom had done a really good job of teaching Harmony how to take care of it, and her hairstylist took great care of her. She never liked the way she looked in a ponytail, so she always let her curls cascade down her neck where they hung just past her shoulder blades. However, right after she moved to LA, her YouTube channel had reached 1 million subscribers, so to celebrate she added turquoise highlights in her hair. Not a lot, just enough to spruce up her curls a little with some fun color. She had intended it to be temporary, but she loved it so much and her viewers responded so well to it that she allowed it to be a part of her everyday appearance. She was fortunate that she also worked for someone who didn't mind the subtle shock of turquoise amongst the blonde.

With a nod of approval to herself, she was out the door.

* * *

She thought the time would never come to head over to Mark's place. This day had turned out to be so unbelievably busy when the meeting with her boss went almost an hour longer than planned, mostly because he was a really long winded guy. But this project he had her on was pretty huge, and with thoughts of work jumbling her mind, she had to come straight home to change clothes, switch gears and jump on her webcam to record a game review for Resident Evil: Revelations 2 for her channel. Her audio cut out halfway through and she spent 30 minutes troubleshooting it before she was able to resume. Her lack of a full night's sleep was making her feel like her movements were sluggish, and all this time she kept counting the hours until she could go see her best friend.

Finally, _finally_ , it was time to put her shoes back on and head over to hang with the guys. She nearly forgot her phone in her haste as she quickly shut the door behind her, locked it, and headed down the hallway. Mark's apartment was literally right behind hers in the next hall, which she was very grateful for when she found herself already unlocking his door with the spare key she had, immediately greeted by the voices of Mark's roommates Matt and Ryan.

"Hey, it's Girliplier!" Matt hollered from his place beside Ryan on the couch as they both waved.

Harmony rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "The name is Harmony, in case you forgot," she quipped with a grin.

"Yeah, but 'Harmiplier' doesn't really sound as good," Matt replied, his eyes back on the TV screen where it sounded like he was annihilating Ryan in Modern Warfare.

"Trust me, guys," she laughed as she tossed her keys onto the table. "I really don't need an -iplier suffix to my name. I'm okay with just Harmony."

"Whatever you say, Girliplier," Ryan chipped in and he and Matt both snickered.

Harmony just shook her head as she passed them, feeling her cheeks heating up and hoping to the heavens she wasn't blushing hard enough for them to see. Then she'd _really_ never hear the end of it. She took in a deep breath as she neared the kitchen and realized that someone must have already cooked dinner. It smelled amazing.

 _Must have been Mark's cooking, then,_ she thought with a grin.

She heard feet thumping down the spiral staircase beside her, but before she could even react, a pair of strong arms seemed to come out of nowhere to encircle her waist in a warm hug.

"Hey you," came the familiar deep voice in her ear before he turned her to face him.

"Hi," Harmony chuckled as brown eyes met brown. "Better day today?"

"Definitely," Mark replied. "Thanks again for keeping me company last night."

Harmony shrugged it off, but suddenly had difficulty meeting his gaze as she tried to keep her cheeks from heating up again. She decided changing the subject would help. She cleared her throat and glanced back at Matt and Ryan on the couch. "So what's up for tonight? We gonna kick some Modern Warfare butt or what?"

He followed her gaze over to the TV in time to see Ryan assassinate Matt. "Nah, they're headed out for a while after this match."

Oh. Harmony didn't realize it was only going to be the two of them tonight. Not that it mattered, of course.

"Dinner time is first!" Mark went on as he headed into the kitchen. "We just finished making tacos." He handed her a plate from the cabinet before grabbing one for himself.

Matt and Ryan left while they were still preparing their tacos, so they ended up taking their places there on the couch, balancing plates and water glasses on their laps and various places. Eating at a table was too mainstream, Harmony had quipped earlier.

"I'm glad I was able to see you tonight," Mark said after a while. "I know you had a busy day."

Harmony rolled her eyes at the unbelievable truth in that statement. "I couldn't wait to get over here," she said honestly. She saw him grin and she had to look away to keep from blushing. _Dude, what is my deal?_

Mark finished off his last taco and set the empty plate on the floor. "There's still time to come with me this week."

It took her a moment to realize what exactly this week was, and her face fell as it dawned on her. He was flying out to Cincinnati tomorrow to see his family before joining his friends Bob and Wade to fly out to PAX East. He had wanted her to come with him, and she had been so busy she forgot all about it. "Oh Mark," she murmured, staring down at the last bit of her taco, "I'm sorry. I have to start on that new project my boss gave me this week."

"You sure you can't sneak away?" he tried again. "You're like a sister to me. My mom would love to meet you."

There was a twinge in her heart that she couldn't explain. He had called her his sister many times before, why did it hurt now? He had gone out of town many times before without her, why did she already miss him?

Harmony cleared her throat. "I have to meet with my co-writer tomorrow and present an outline to my boss on Friday."

Mark smiled and reached out to pat her on the knee. "That's okay, Harmony," he said reassuringly. "I know this is a bad week to get away. Maybe next time. Mom will still want to meet you and I still want to take you with me to a convention."

Harmony gave him a smile in return, but it felt forced. The depth of her disappointment was baffling her. But she tried her best to shake it off and tried again for a better smile. "Yeah, next time for sure. I'll give my boss notice next time so he'll know I'll be gone. I'm sorry I didn't do that this time."

"Don't worry about it," he replied easily. "Always next time."

For the first time in her life, she wished she could reach out and hold his hand. But she didn't. And when he got up to take the dirty dishes to the sink, the opportunity for that was truly lost.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Thank you, GoldenAlpha101 for the reviews! I really appreciate it! 3**_


	4. Four: The Game of Acceptance

Her apartment felt emptier than usual when she stepped inside. She had stayed with Mark for as long as she possibly could, right up until he was practically pushing her out the door insisting that she get some sleep. But Harmony didn't care. It didn't matter that she was behind on sleep from the previous night. She was not in the mood to be alone. She was dreading tomorrow and would dread it even more once his plane took off at 9:30 in the morning. He was only going to be gone for a week, but next Tuesday felt so far away she could barely stand it.

Her gaze idly trailed over towards the kitchen, and even in the moonlight through the blinds she could make out the cheery little sticky note Mark had left on her coffee machine. She knew she should be happy right now. And she knew somewhere inside she was, deep down. She was glad he was getting an opportunity to see his family and hang out with his friends, but on top of that her heart was hurting in a way it never had before, and it was overshadowing anything else.

She screwed her eyes shut for a moment. No, nothing was wrong. Everything was fine. Great, even. He had his life to lead and she had hers. They were friends, that was all, right? Or was that something she was just trying to make herself believe?

Her phone gave off a brief jingle, nearly startling her out of her skin as it yanked her out of her thoughts. With a huff she pulled it out of her back pocket, and her eyes immediately focused sharply on her best friend's name glowing on the screen.

 **Good night, friend! I'll miss you this week!**

Friend. That stupid twinge came back and her mind couldn't tear itself away from that word. But why? That was exactly what she was to him. Best friends, right?

"Like a sister," she spat out, echoing his words he spoke earlier during dinner.

Ugh. She shook her head and made her way towards her bedroom. She just needed to go to bed.

Pajamas on and teeth brushed, Harmony buried herself under all of her blankets, abandoning her phone on the nightstand. With a heavy sigh she closed her eyes to try and sleep, but the words "friend" and "sister" kept coming to the surface of her mind, loud and clear. She couldn't ignore it or brush it off. The discontentment was there.

 _Why?_ she asked herself, closing her eyes tighter as if that would make it all go away.

She had always been perfectly happy with her friendship with Mark. It was perfect in its own imperfect, nerdy way. She had been content. Why had that changed now? Why did she feel like she wanted more?

No, she was just being silly... maybe even overthinking things. She just needed to meet a man, that was all. It had been several months since she had been on a date. Maybe it was just her heart telling her to get back out in the dating world again. She couldn't have feelings for Mark. She _didn't_ have feelings for Mark. That just wasn't the way it was supposed to be. Feelings would ruin what they had. She couldn't lose him. He was her best friend. He was like a brother to her, right? Right?

Yes, she decided as she rolled over in determination, burrowing further into her sea of navy blankets. She was just going through a phase, that was all. She wasn't falling for her best friend. She just wasn't.

* * *

"Hi, Leah!" Harmony exclaimed when she opened her door one evening to find a short brunette standing excitedly on the other side.

"Harmony!" Leah cried in returned as she threw her arms around the blonde's neck. "So good to see you!"

"Come in!" Harmony offered as she ushered Leah inside. "Would you like some coffee?"

"Yes, please," Leah replied as she took a seat at the kitchen table.

"You staying the night tonight?"

"No, sorry, I have to be at work early in the morning. Just wanted to drop by for a quick visit."

Harmony nodded, humming faintly to herself as she pulled down a vanilla coffee pod from the cabinet to start the Keurig for Leah. Leah used to work as a columnist at the same office Harmony was at. Harmony worked her first project with Leah and their boss had been so pleased with their work that he started encouraging them to co-write several large articles together until Leah was offered a job she just couldn't turn down in Santa Ana. However, with Leah's family still living in LA, she still came to town at least once a month to visit them, and always made sure to visit Harmony as well. Harmony tried to visit Leah as much as she could, but balancing her two jobs often made it difficult. She felt bad but Leah didn't mind. Today, she was extra grateful for her friend's visit. Between work and missing Mark (though she wouldn't admit that) things had been rough. Her meeting with her boss went incredibly well today, but she couldn't deny the nervousness she had felt this morning dealing with such a big article. Then after coming home to record two videos for her channel, her mind was exhausted and she most definitely was not in the mood to be alone. Leah couldn't have picked a better time to drop by.

"Where's Markiplier?" Leah wanted to know, glancing around the apartment as Harmony set a ceramic green mug in front of her.

Harmony raised an eyebrow at her friend. "Who're you here to see? Me or Mark?"

Leah laughed. "You, of course, you doof."

Harmony snickered from her place beside the Keurig as she waited on her usual hazelnut coffee, only this time it was decaf.

"I'm pretty sure he's been hanging out here almost every time I've visited," Leah went on, a slightly mischievous glint in her eyes.

Harmony grinned. It was true; Mark was always here whenever she would come by. Leah would usually end up kicking Mark out so they could have some "girl time," she called it, which was always pure entertainment for Harmony to watch such an exchange between the two. She was still smiling when she sat down across from the brunette, setting both her phone and her coffee down on the table.

"Mark's out of town," Harmony finally answered. "He left Tuesday. He has a convention this weekend and left a little early to stop and see his family."

"He left Tuesday?" Leah echoed, eyebrows raised. "Good for you, girl, you've made it to Friday!"

Harmony gave her friend a funny look. "Well, yeah," she said slowly, "of course I've made it to Friday. It really has been a crazy week, though."

"Oh come on, Harmony, you forget that I know you. I'm not talking about work. You and Mark usually see each other everyday."

"We do not," Harmony tried to argue. Well, that was basically a lie.

"Practically!" Leah exclaimed. "I know this must really suck for you."

"Leah, I'm fine. Really. He does his own thing and I do mine."

Leah regarded her blonde friend as she took a long sip of her coffee. When it came to Mark, she could see right through her. During her visits over the past few months, Leah saw Harmony change. It was as clear as day, from the way the blonde's eyes would trail him when he walked by, to the way she would light up when he called her name, to the way she would linger when he gave her a goodnight hug. It was painfully obvious that Harmony felt more for her best friend than she used to.

Harmony started growing a bit restless under her friend's intense gaze as she set her mug down. "What?"

"Why are you in denial, hun?" Her question seemed to come out of nowhere. "You know it would take a load off your shoulders if you would just be honest with yourself."

"About what?" Harmony snapped, a little too quickly.

"About Mark, duh," Leah replied, resting her arms on the tabletop as she leaned forward. "I know you know what I'm talking about."

Harmony could feel her face heating up and she had to look away from her friend, biting on her lower lip. "I don't have feelings for him," she defended herself. "It's just... been a long time since I've dated anyone and I think I just need to get my head on straight and get back into the dating scene again. It's just a thing I'm going through."

Leah narrowed her eyes. "Bull," she declared.

"Leah," Harmony warned.

The brunette held her hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay, okay. Whatever you say, hun. I'm just saying-"

Harmony's phone buzzed there on the table, drawing the immediate attention of both women. Leah watched as she snatched up her phone to read a text message. With rapt attention she watched Harmony's expression soften and her eyes seemed to sparkle even in the apartment's artificial light. A smile was fighting hard to spread itself across her lips as her thumb flew across the phone's screen in a return text. Leah waited until Harmony finished her reply, locked her phone and set it back on the table.

"What?" Harmony squeaked again when she looked up to find Leah staring at her with an impish grin.

"Who were you talking to?" the brunette inquired.

This time Harmony knew she was blushing and she couldn't hide it. Leah could tell and she was loving it.

"Mark texted you, didn't he?" She paused for a moment, thinking. "Shouldn't he be busy at a convention tonight?"

"Yeah, he's there right now," Harmony answered slowly. "He just..." She couldn't help but smile. "He just sent me like 5 selfies with his friends and some fans."

"He took time out of his busy day at the con to text you and you loved it."

"Well, I always like hearing from him."

"Oh my goodness, Harmony!" Leah groaned, tossing her hands up in the air. "Stop being so complicated, woman! You say you need to get back in the dating scene - just go after him!"

Harmony giggled at her very animated friend in spite of herself.

"Seriously!" Leah cried, but Harmony was shaking her head. "Why not?"

"I can't date Mark, Leah," Harmony told her. "He's my best friend and he doesn't see me in that way anyway. We're like brother and sister-"

"Are you sure?"

"-It just doesn't fit. It would ruin everything."

"You don't know that for sure."

Harmony sighed and gazed out the window at the twilight sky as it gave way to the dark of night. "I just can't, Leah. We're friends. Always have been and always will be. I don't wanna lose what we do have."

Now it was Leah's turn to sigh as she gazed absently down at her empty mug. "I sure don't get you sometimes, girl," she said, "but I sure do hope you get things figured out for your sake. And maybe his sake, too." She stood and carried her mug over to the sink. "I gotta go before it gets too late."

Harmony stood as well and gave her friend a hug. "Thank you for stopping by. Maybe next time you can stay longer. I would like that."

Leah smiled as they both headed to the front door. "I don't usually have to work so early in the morning, but I'm covering for someone else tomorrow. Next time we'll have the whole day to hang out. Maybe I'll stay the night."

Harmony smiled and nodded, giving Leah one more hug and they said their goodbyes. As she closed her door and silence fell into her home, Leah's words turned over and over in her mind. She did not think on them, nor did she try to analyze them. She simply stood there for a while, letting her friend's words resonate over and over. She lost track of how long she stood there replaying the evening's conversation until a different feeling came over her, hitting her hard like a sledgehammer.

She missed Mark badly.

No, she didn't.

Yes. She did.

With another sigh of discontent and rattled thoughts and emotions, she closed the blinds and turned off the lights to head to bed. It wasn't that late, but she was tired. She was done with this day - with this week. Her brain needed something else to latch onto for a while. Maybe she would read for a while.

Trying her best not to fall into the whirlpool of barely-contained thoughts about her best friend, she went through her nightly routine of washing up and changing into her pajamas to climb into her thick navy blankets. She left the lamp on the nightstand on and fussed with her pillows until she was comfortable with her iPad in hand. Automatically she logged into YouTube and maintained her channel for a while, checking views, likes, and replying to a few comments that particularly caught her eye. But then after a while she found herself on her homepage, staring at her news feed. Mark's channel was at the top, because of course she was subscribed to it. He had posted a video while in Ohio - it looked like a vlog, probably a quick update on his weekend - she didn't know. She hadn't seen it yet. She didn't want to watch any of his videos until he was at home, where she could easily see the real him right afterwards by walking to the next hall. Or walking into her living room. Either one. He frequented both.

Why, though? Why close out of YouTube without seeing what he was up to back home?

Because she missed him terribly, and doing that would only make it worse.

Sighing for what felt like the millionth time that day, she flipped over to her Internet browser and thought she could do a little research on the next video game she was going to review for her own YouTube channel.

She didn't realize she had dozed off until some sort of strangely upbeat music startled her out of her sleep. She laid there blinking for a few seconds before she finally noticed it was her phone ringing. She sobered immediately when she recognized that it was _his_ ringtone. She had set it long ago to the outro music he used in his non-horror gaming videos. She thought it was clever and he laughed when he found out about it.

"Hey you," she answered with a wide smile, hoping she didn't sound groggy.

The background noise on the other end was full of laughing and playful shouting, but that voice she knew so oh-so-well cut through everything. "Hey, pretty lady." It was music to her ears.

"What are you up to?" She leaned over to glance at her alarm clock. It was half past 11.

"We just left the con," Mark replied. "We're getting food right now and I just wanted to call and say hi before you went to bed."

Harmony was grinning and blushing, but her smile turned a bit sheepish when she decided that he didn't need to know she had already been asleep. "You didn't have to do that," she said a bit bashfully. "I know you're super busy... I don't want to take up your time."

"I always have time for you! How are things over there?"

"Good. Quiet. Too quiet. There haven't been any rowdy 5'10" guys with glasses letting themselves into my apartment lately."

"Oh trust me," Mark chuckled, "I'll remedy that in just a few more days."

"Good," she replied. "I miss you."

"I miss you, too. I wish you were here. You'd love it."

"Next time, right?"

"I'm holding you to that." She heard him say something she couldn't quite pick up and a roar of laughter followed. "Sorry," he said amongst a laugh of his own, "Bob and Wade are making fun of me."

"Oh, do you need to go?" she wanted to know.

"No, not yet! We're about to eat, but I need to hear how your project is coming along first! Then I'll go."

Harmony couldn't stop smiling. She couldn't imagine how busy he had probably been all day, yet he made time for her. It was making her giddy. "So far so good. My boss is really excited about the final draft. My co-writer Dani is strong, too."

"Nice. Is this gonna be another epic duo like your partnership with Leah?"

Harmony laughed. "No one will ever compare to Leah..." Suddenly she stopped as Leah's words from earlier came hurtling back at her and she sat up in an instant. For the first time, she saw everything clearly. There was no other way to see it. There was no other way around it. It demanded acknowledgement; no more denial. No more hiding. Her mad blushing, her rapid heartbeat, her need to be around him, hanging on every word he spoke, feeling like she was in middle school again talking to her first crush on the phone... It all pointed to one thing. Just one thing.

She realized Mark had been calling her name. "Harmony? Hey, Harmony, are you okay?"

She shook her head as if to clear her mind, feeling dazed. "Yeah, Mark, I'm here. I'm okay."

"What happened? I really lost you for a minute there."

"I thought..." What did she think? Her brain wasn't processing anything correctly. It was hung up on just one thing. She was panicking. She tried to think of an excuse. "I thought... I thought I heard something."

"Heard something?" Mark echoed, and she could hear the concern in his voice. "Are you alone? Do you need help?"

Harmony rubbed her eyes with her free hand in aggravation. _Way to go, genius. You_ heard _something? Really? Now he's worried for no reason._ "No, I'm fine, I promise," she reassured him. "Pretty sure it was just the neighbors being stupid." _Wow. How lame can I get?_

"Okay," he replied, "well, if they get too weird or something don't hesitate to go over to my place. You can stay in my room. Matt and Ryan won't mind."

"O-okay," she mumbled her response, her mind now filled with thoughts of sleeping in his room.

"You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah!" Harmony exclaimed, maybe a little too enthusiastically.

But he seemed to be satisfied. "Okay. Well, I gotta go eat before the guys leave me here. I'll call you tomorrow night."

Harmony nodded dumbly.

"Have a good night, friend!"

"Goodnight, Mark."

Her hands were shaking when the call disconnected and she stared down at her blank phone screen, the phone call seeming like a dream even though she hadn't felt this awake in a few days. She felt like she had just had some sort of epiphany, although it felt like it was an epiphany about something part of her had already known the answer to, yet she didn't know how to process it. She had to do something. If she remained idle she was going to go crazy. Her phone was in her hand again and she was calling Leah.

"Please answer," Harmony whispered shakily, closing her eyes. She didn't know whether she was going to cry or faint or what.

"Harmony?" came Leah's sleepy voice. "What... what's up?"

"I'm so sorry for waking you," Harmony murmured, her voice thick with quarreling emotions.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Leah brushed it off, suddenly sounding much more awake when she caught the hitch in her friend's tone. "What's wrong? What's going on? Are you okay?"

"I'm really not sure..."

"You sound like you wanna cry. Talk to me. What happened?"

Harmony took in a deep breath to try and calm down. "You were right," she confessed. "I see that now and I didn't know who else I could talk to. I don't know why or how I was able to deny it for so long but I can't now. Even I can see it. I see it all. And I'm scared, Leah. This wasn't supposed to happen."

There was a pause on Leah's end. "Harmony... are you talking about...?" She trailed off.

Harmony took in another breath and steeled herself to say it out loud. "I'm in love with my best friend."


	5. Five: The Game of Hope

Leah stumbled over her words for a moment, trying to recover from her shock. "That's... That's great! Err, I mean... That's great that you said it out loud. That's the first step to figuring all this out."

"I'm scared, though, Leah," Harmony murmured.

"I know, honey. Take a slow, deep breath and try to calm down so you can think clearly." She waited until she heard the blonde do so. "Okay. Now, what made you realize this? Did something happen?"

"Mark called me and we were just talking. It just hit me out of nowhere."

"Okay. Listen, Harmony, this doesn't have to be a bad thing. I know you're scared and that's totally understandable. But this could be the start of something great, hun!"

"But... How can it be great when he doesn't look at me like that? I'm his best friend. His sister. That's how it's been. I don't want to be in love with a man who doesn't love me back. I just want things to be the way they've been. Things weren't complicated then." She brushed away a tear she hadn't realized was falling.

"What if things change for him like they changed for you?" Leah questioned and Harmony fell silent. "Mark isn't tied to only feeling one certain way about you, just like you weren't tied to only seeing him as a friend. Your heart had other plans. His can, too."

Harmony tried to quell the frantic buzzing in her mind to properly soak in her friend's words. Leah was only a year older than her, but she always seemed so wise. Maybe his heart could change like hers had.

"You all right?" Leah asked when the silence stretched on.

"Yeah," Harmony replied slowly. "I just... really don't want to lose him because of this."

"Unfortunately, we don't know the future. But I would just hate to see you beat yourself up over something that could turn out to be amazing. I've been dating my boyfriend for 9 months now, but when we first met we didn't even like each other! It's too early to tell one way or another for you and Mark. Just work on settling down and adjusting to your newfound feelings."

Harmony nodded, closing her eyes again. "Okay," she whispered. "I'll try to do that."

"You'll be fine, girl. You're strong and beautiful. And Mark is kind... and hot. So you picked yourself a good one."

Harmony laughed. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'm gonna see if I can come out again in a few days. I wanna make sure you're doing all right. In the meantime you can always call me."

Harmony thanked her again and they disconnected, leaving her in the quiet of her home once again. She still felt shaken, but she was reassuring herself now that Leah had made a lot of good points. Maybe something good could come out of this someday. Or perhaps nothing might come out of it and their friendship would remain unaffected. Or...

Harmony shook her head. No, she wasn't going to let her thoughts trail down that road. Not yet.

"I wish Mark was here," she whispered to herself, her head in her hands. All she wanted was to be wrapped in his arms where she was always able forget about things that bothered her and just enjoy his comforting presence. Even when they were things she couldn't talk to him about, he was always so good at helping her through it, whether it was by listening or talking it out or just holding her. She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling cold as she missed his touch.

As an idea dawned on her, she rose from her bed and slipped her robe on over her white cami and pink-striped pajama pants. Grabbing her keys and her phone, she left her apartment and headed over to the next hallway. With a key in the lock and a gentle push on the door she found herself standing in the entryway of Mark's apartment. Part of her was unsure why she had come here. Part of her knew exactly why.

She moved silently into the living room, not wanting to startle Matt or Ryan wherever they were. However as soon as she made it past the couch a tall blonde emerged from the kitchen.

"Neighbors being stupid?" Matt guessed, a glass of water in one hand and a piece of toast in the other. "Mark told us you might come by."

It took a moment for his words to click. "Oh yeah," she replied. "Sorry."

Matt shrugged. "No worries. I'll tell Ryan you're here. Get comfy."

Harmony nodded her thanks and turned to make her way up the spiral staircase, and it seemed like only a moment later she was standing in front of Mark's closed bedroom door. Nervousness welled up inside her as if he was inside, and she wondered for a moment if she should really be here. Everyone thought she was here because her neighbors were creating a racket, but only she knew why she was really here.

She let herself inside, immediately enveloped by the faint scent of his cologne. Already she felt herself relax as she closed the door behind her and took a moment just to glance around. She had been up here many times, but never without him. This was where they usually hung out unless they were hanging out with friends, and of course whenever they recorded together. But tonight this room felt different to her; it meant something different. This wasn't just her best friend's room anymore, this was the room that belonged to the man she was in love with. Everything here had a new meaning now.

As the adrenaline from her recent epiphany slowly died down her eyes began to feel heavy at last. With a yawn she crawled into his bed, nestling herself snugly under the thick black comforter and curling up on her side. Taking in a slow, deep breath she felt a smile touch her lips as the smell of him delicately surrounded her. She was asleep a minute later.

* * *

It was raining. The steady pattering of droplets on the roof greeted her as she awoke, slowly opening her eyes to gaze absently up at the motionless ceiling fan. The light of morning, though mostly covered by rain clouds, reached into the room just enough to illuminate it in a soft, muted hue. Slightly disoriented from a dream that already escaped her memory, she forgot where she was for a moment. But lately Mark had been one of the first things on her mind in the mornings, and as she thought of him now she remembered seeking comfort in his room last night. It had been the closest she could get to him for now. She closed her eyes and slowly took in his lingering scent... She could almost imagine him laying next to her.

With a little sigh she opened her eyes back up to reality and glanced over at his alarm clock to see that it was 9am. It had really been a while since she had slept that late. Now that she thought about it, this was the most rested she felt in days. She felt calm and rejuvenated and her thoughts were clear. When was the last time she had slept that well? For a while she just laid there, sprawled out on his bed listening to the peaceful falling of the rain. She wanted to say she was content like this. She wanted to be able to wake up like this everyday.

She lost track of how long she laid here with the rain as her companion.

Like it always does, reality eventually nudged her again and she reached over for her phone to make sure she hadn't slept through any important phone calls, but when the screen lit up there was a text from Mark waiting for her instead that had been sent an hour ago.

 **Good morning, pretty lady! I hope you had a good sleep and have a great day!**

Harmony smiled as the butterflies stirred within her once more. She replied quickly, telling him to have fun at PAX and to be safe, before laying her arm back down on the bed, her phone tumbling just past her fingertips as it landed on the mattress.

The only thing that could have possibly made this morning any better was if he was right here beside her.

It was 9:30 when she finally - and reluctantly - mustered the energy to rise from her new favorite blanket sanctuary and actually get a start on her day. She made the bed before slipping out of the room, gently closing the door behind her. The air in the apartment was still and empty as she wrapped her fingers around the banister of the stairs, pausing when her gaze caught on the rain through the window as it dripped off the protruding eaves in its own rhythm. She guessed by the silence that Ryan and Matt had gone for the morning. She had the apartment to herself.

After a while she tore her gaze away from the entrancing scenery and padded down the stairs to head to the kitchen for some coffee. As she stood there waiting for her mug to be filled, her brain kept nagging her to check her email. She knew she needed to, but she just wasn't ready to get a start on real life quite yet. She was positive there was at least one email waiting for her from work - most likely her co-writer Dani sending in her first portion of their big article. Or perhaps even her boss rambling on about something she already knew about. And she knew she needed to record this weekend's top 10 countdown video for tonight. But she really just wanted those things to wait just a little bit longer. She silently promised Dani and her boss and her YouTube subscribers that she would dedicate this entire day to the things she needed to accomplish. She just wanted to stay here for just a tiny bit longer.

10am found her out on Mark's balcony, both of her hands wrapped around her coffee mug to keep them warm as she sat back in the coarse green fabric of the patio chair. The April rain shower was still going strong, but the air was as still as it had been inside the apartment so her fuzzy robe was enough to keep the chill from the rest of her body. The eaves carried the rain just past the railing to let it fall down into the shrubs below. It was quiet enough for her to be able to listen to the raindrops hitting the leaves in the trees and a few birds chirping lazily from their perches in the branches.

And she let her mind wander.

She wondered what this morning would have been like if Mark was home with her. Knowing him and the morning person he always was, he would have already had his first video up by now, as well as a morning workout completed. She could picture him noticing her outside as he passed by at some point, changing his direction to step outside behind her. Most likely, his hands would come to rest on her shoulders to give them a few gentle squeezes. He would probably ask what she was thinking about and eventually sit down to watch the rain with her because he loved rainy days. She would rest her head on his shoulder and he'd wrap his arm around her like he always did. It was all so familiar to her. They had grown so close and she knew him so well she could see the way it would play out. But then her thoughts ventured into uncharted territory and it brought everything else to a halt.

What if she kissed him?

She had never entertained that thought before. She sat up a little straighter, her eyes wide in surprise at herself as she felt heat creeping up into her cheeks. In the year she had known him, kissing him was never something she thought was ever on the table. She never saw him in that way before. But now that her feelings had changed... now that she was being honest with herself...

She gently touched her lips as she wondered what his felt like against them.

She wanted to know.

But really, she wanted it all.

She wanted to hold his hand whenever she wanted. She wanted goodnight kisses and silly date nights. She wanted to know every part of him and stand beside him in this crazy thing called life. She wanted him in her future forever. She wanted to be his and be his one and only-

She heard the balcony door open behind her and her back went rigid, feeling like she had suddenly somehow been caught fantasizing about her best friend. She did not turn around because she knew she was blushing profusely.

"Hey, Harmony," came Ryan's voice. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you..."

Harmony shook her head and waved it off, waving perhaps a bit too animatedly. "You're fine," she managed before busying herself with a long sip of coffee.

"I didn't realize you were out here at first. Everything all right?"

She nodded, taking another sip.

"Thinking about Mark?"

Harmony swore her heart skipped a beat as she choked on her coffee, nearly spitting it out as she felt heat gravitate to her face yet again. Ryan practically yelped in surprise and rushed around the chair into her line of vision, looking a bit alarmed.

"You okay?" he asked her. "Sorry if that was my fault. Not sure. But sorry anyway!"

Harmony shook her head, clearing her throat a few times to try and recover. She couldn't look at him, though. Not yet. She was absolutely mortified. She felt like she had gotten caught red handed, like he somehow knew what she had spent the entire morning contemplating. But he couldn't have known. He didn't know. It was just a joke. Ryan and Matt teased her all the time about Mark. It was nothing new. Just a tease.

He sat down in the patio chair across from her, waiting for her to quiet down to ensure she was fine. Several moments of silence passed once she calmed down.

"Sorry about that," she eventually said to him. "I didn't mean to put on a show like that." She smiled to try and cover the lingering embarrassment.

"You're fine," Ryan replied. "You need some water?"

"No, I just need to not attempt to breathe in my coffee." They both chuckled. She took in one more sip, grateful that it went down smoothly. "Thank you for letting me stay here last night," she said, changing the subject.

"No problem. Mark let us both know what was up right after he got off the phone with you."

Harmony nodded.

"You know..." Ryan started, but then he paused, running a quick hand through his short brown hair, as if trying to decide whether or not to continue.

"I don't know unless you tell me," Harmony prompted him with a smirk.

Ryan grinned and shrugged. "I really hope I'm not being too forward... But... the way he looks out for you... the way he takes care of you... I just still can't believe you guys are just friends."

Harmony's heart started pounding in her ears. She kept her gaze locked on to a bird she could just barely see in the tree a short distance away. She couldn't find her voice to respond.

"I don't know," he went on, seemingly unfazed by her silence. "Maybe it's just me... but I would've thought he would've asked you out by now."

"Why?" she finally managed. "What makes you say that?" She tried her hardest to sound casual.

"Just the way you guys act with each other." His face broke out into another cheeky grin. "I think you really are Girliplier and you guys just don't know it."

Oh thank goodness, that broke the tension. No matter what, that always made Harmony roll her eyes. She felt herself relax a little at that silly nickname as she playfully slugged Ryan in the arm. "Shut up."

Ryan held his hands up in defense as he stood up. "Hey, I'm just saying it like it is!"

"Uh-huh, sure you are." She stood as well and they both made their way back inside. She figured if she didn't get back to her place now she'd really regret it. So she left her mug in the sink and said goodbye to Ryan. But as she made her way back to her own apartment her heart was still racing and she was replaying Ryan's words over in her mind.

That was the most serious Ryan had ever been when it came to the topic of her and Mark. Before that it had always been just jokes and teasing. If he really thought all that - if he could see all that as one of Mark's close friends - perhaps there was hope for her after all?

* * *

 ** _A/N: Thank you, darlings, for the reviews! They make me feel super special! This is the most I've written in years and I hope you guys continue to give me some feedback and let me know how I'm doing! Love! ~Foxy_**


	6. Six: The Game of Anticipation

Harmony literally could not sit still. She had made herself comfortable at a little table situated near one of the main entrances of the airport. She could see the flight schedule from her spot, as well as most of the luggage carousels further down the walkway. She had her laptop open in front of her and had been trying to work on the final draft of her big article. After what seemed like the longest week of her life, it was finally Tuesday evening and she had received a text from Mark a few hours ago letting her know he was boarding his plane to come home. She had left her apartment super early to avoid traffic (but mostly because she could barely stand the anticipation of getting there and finally seeing him) and she had brought her laptop with her to continue working if she ended up with extra time on her hands. Which she did. She got here almost an hour early. So now she was trying her hardest to proofread what she had typed up so far, but her mind was running rampant and she kept reading the same line over and over. Her eyes were spending more time bouncing between the clock in the corner of her computer screen and the digital flight schedule. Oh she had never before been so anxious for him to come home. But she had to keep herself busy or else she would go crazy and time would crawl... which was exactly what was happening now.

Her eyes darted to the clock once again, then to the flight schedule. On time. Good. That meant he should be landing any time now.

She was practically vibrating with excitement. She kept fidgeting with her curly hair and pulling on her shirt. She had chosen dark blue skinny jeans with a gray and pale pink plaid button-up that she liked to leave unbuttoned at the top to reveal a bit of the matching pink tank top underneath. She paired it with light brown suede boots that matched her belt and coincidentally matched her laptop bag. The plaid shirt also had hints of baby blue that almost matched the turquoise highlights in her hair. This was one of her favorite outfits. She had such a strong desire to look very nice this evening... to look nice for _him_ , but she didn't want to overdo it. She had spent an hour digging through her wardrobe. She didn't want to look like she was trying too hard or anything, but also didn't want to show up in ripped jeans and a Doctor Who shirt, so she hoped her selection was a good balance between the two.

She remembered the laptop sitting in front of her, and reluctantly dragged her gaze to the cursor blinking patiently at the end of her last paragraph. She had stopped typing mid-sentence. Ugh, she hated it when she did that.

 _Where was I?_ she thought distractedly, furrowing her brow as she clicked through a few windows to try and reign in her focus. She had just laid her hands on the keyboard when her phone buzzed from its place on the table. She snatched it up at once, her work immediately forgotten again.

 **WATCH OUT. I'M COMING FOR YOU.**

Harmony laughed out loud at Mark's text and she sent a simple reply.

 **Dork.**

She nearly jumped out of her seat and barely remembered to save her work before she closed her laptop and tossed it into her bag faster than a high school student packing to leave at the end of the day. She abandoned her table and slung her bag over her shoulder, making her way towards the luggage carousels.

Her heart was racing and she couldn't keep the smile from pulling at her lips as she neared the security area and began to see a flood of passengers passing through the exit to start the search for their luggage. She glanced anxiously from person to person, looking for fluffy black hair, glasses and strong arms.

Then finally, she saw him. He was wearing his green Legend of Zelda shirt and black Adidas pants, one of his favorite things to wear while traveling. It took everything she had not to break out into a run right then and there. Oh how she wanted to! Instead she slowed down her gait, staying out of the way of others, and waited for him to see her. But then he looked up and his eyes met hers and his face lit up. He stopped where he was and held out his arms.

That was it. She could no longer resist.

With an excited giggle she dashed forward to close the distance between them, reaching out to him before she was even close enough. She wrapped her arms around his neck as his encircled her waist to grip her firmly. She felt more than heard him chuckle as he lifted her until her feet left the floor, burying his face in the curve of her neck, taking in the sweet scent of her cherry blossom body spray. She knew they were acting like they hadn't seen each other in ages. She knew they were probably drawing attention to themselves; two YouTubers in an airport didn't have to do much to gain attention. But right now she really didn't care, and it seemed like he didn't either as he held on to her a little longer.

His arms felt like home.

"I missed you!" he exclaimed as he set her down and took a step back to get a good look at her. "You look amazing!"

"Thank you! I missed you, too!" If only he knew how much of an understatement that was. "How was the flight in?"

"I think I listened to more music today than I have in months," he laughed.

Harmony chuckled and nodded in understanding as they moved toward one of the carousels to wait for his luggage. She wished she could hold his hand as they kept in step with each other. It was so close... yet so very far.

 _Get a hold of yourself and calm down,_ she silently chided herself. "Are you hungry?" she wanted to know, also wanting to derail her train of thought.

"Starving," Mark replied, his chocolate eyes watching the different bags and suitcases lazily gliding by. But then those eyes suddenly turned to her in genuine interest. "But enough about me, I wanna hear about you! What did I miss? How was your week? How is the article coming?"

Harmony smiled bashfully under his gaze, suddenly unable to meet his eyes for fear of blushing. Mark had called her every night over the weekend as he and his friends left PAX for the day, but their conversations were always cut short due to his hectic schedule, so it was never much more than just saying hello and checking in. They had a bit of real catching up to do.

"I'm working on the final draft," she told him, patting her computer bag.

"That's awesome! So your boss likes you and Dani working together?"

"Oh yeah. I see more Dani-Harmony collaborations in the future."

"How about some Harmony-Mark collaborations?"

Harmony swore she blushed harder than she had ever blushed before as her breath caught in her throat. She earnestly thanked the Lord above that his gaze had trailed back to the carousels, because for a few seconds she absolutely could not function properly. "What?" she squeaked.

"You know," he shrugged nonchalantly as he checked the tag on a passing bag, "let's do a video together. We haven't done that in a while. Let's play something together. We should pick a mini-series or something that lasts longer than just one video."

Harmony felt stupid. Of course. Of course that was what he meant. "Yeah," she answered, hoping fervently that she didn't sound as disappointed as she felt. She mentally kicked herself. _Get a grip!_ "Yeah, that sounds awesome. I'm totally there."

She must have zoned out for a second, because when she looked up at him again he had a very large duffel bag in his hand, giving her that half-smile he always did that she loved. The bag looked incredibly heavy, but he was holding it like it was no heavier than a simple bag of groceries, thanks to the... very admirable muscles in his arms.

"Ready to go?" he was asking her.

She snapped herself out of her trance. "Yeah," she replied at once, "let's go get some food." She turned on her heel and headed towards the exit outside, knowing he was right beside her, keeping her head bowed as she fought hard to recover once again. She had been standing there staring at him like he was eye candy or something. She couldn't believe she let herself do that right in front of him! This was so much harder than she ever imagined. She really needed to learn how to get a hold of herself around him before she made a huge blunder she wouldn't be able to cover up. What would happen then? She didn't think she was ready for that.

They made their way into the parking garage with amiable small talk, nothing too intense that Harmony could mess up by gawking at his body or getting hung up on any unintentional hints or innuendos. Fortunately, she had scored a spot that wasn't too far away. She popped the trunk and unlocked the doors of her blue Chevy Sonic with her remote and Mark hoisted the bag into it like it was nothing before closing it, flashing her a wide grin before heading over to the passenger side.

The car ride home was also not quite as easy for Harmony to make a fool of herself, mostly because she had to focus on the road. They had stopped for a quick bite close to the airport to avoid eating dinner any later than it already was, and because of their stop they had missed most of the commute traffic, so she was able to cruise at a comfortable speed down the freeway. The conversations between them were easy and pleasant like they always were, and Harmony was extra thankful for that. He shared with her his highlights from his weekend at PAX, the shenanigans he and his friends got into, and his time with his family. She responded in kind, telling him about her meetings with Dani and their boss, and the different directions their article took before it became what it is now. She told him about Leah's visit and how she was surprised he wasn't there, but she did not tell him what they talked about. She did not share with him her big discovery of the week, or how she spent everyday wishing he was home already. However, she ended up thanking him for letting her stay at his place, and that led him to ask further about that night.

"What were the neighbors doing anyway?"

 _Way to go, Harmony._ She took a second, acting like she was recalling the evening when she was really just trying to think of something that was believable and would let her off the hook quickest. "I don't really know," she said slowly. "It just sounded like someone was banging on the walls. I thought someone was banging my door down at first." She stopped before she ended up making her story too elaborate.

"But nothing since that night?"

"Not at all."

Mark paused for a moment, glancing over at her profile, but then shrugged and sat back in his seat to gaze idly out the windshield. "That's so weird. But I'm glad it turned out to be nothing dangerous."

Harmony smiled at his protectiveness towards her. "Thanks again."

"Did the guys give you any crap?" he inquired with a smirk.

"No, I didn't see much of them." She did not want to share about her conversation with Ryan. That was the end of that topic before they moved on to talk of other things, and for that she was incredibly grateful. Now if only she could get her mind off of the fact that their hands were so close together with their arms both on the armrest of the center console.

* * *

It felt so good now that Mark was home again. Harmony found herself in a much happier mood over the next few days; her drive to get ahead on YouTube videos was returning, as well as her motivation to finish up the final draft of her article and send it in. She hadn't really seen Mark as much as she wanted to since his return, but they were still texting each other and even though she missed him she knew he needed to catch up on his work from being gone for a week.

It wasn't until late Friday night when she was getting ready for bed that she stopped and suddenly realized that she had seen Mark less this week than she had in months, including the last time he left town for a convention. At some point earlier in the day she had forgotten her phone somewhere in the apartment, and when she found it several hours later there were no missed calls or waiting texts and he hadn't come by to hang out. Her brow furrowed as she sat in her bed, wrapped in her blankets, staring at her phone's blank screen.

Her love for him made her concerned that maybe something was off, but she did her best to shake off the feeling as she laid her head back onto her pillow. He was just busy. She was being silly. She knew he had a lot going on. No big deal. She was sure she would hear from him this weekend, and that thought was enough to ease her to sleep.


	7. Seven: The Game of Losing

Harmony had just climbed into her car when her phone started vibrating. Now that her big article was done, she wanted to spend some time this Saturday running some errands she had neglected during her time writing, and she had just stopped by the office to drop off a few things for her boss to have first thing Monday morning.

She pulled out her phone and immediately broke out into a wide smile. There he was. Finally.

"Hey, stranger," she answered cheerfully.

"Hey you!" Mark responded. "I'm sorry, it's been a few days, hasn't it? I'm really sorry... It's been a hectic week."

"It's okay," she replied. "I figured that was the case. You just owe me."

Mark chuckled. "Hey, what are you doing right now?"

"Just left the office. What's up?"

"Can we meet for lunch? In like 20 minutes?"

The butterflies were stirring in Harmony's stomach again. "Yeah!" she exclaimed.

"You sure you're not busy?"

"I have plenty of time!" It didn't matter if she was busy or not. She was willing to rearrange her entire day to have lunch with Mark. She felt like he had just asked her out on a date. She took in a deep breath. She had to stay cool.

"Awesome. Can't wait to see you!"

She was grinning like an idiot when she hung up. She knew things would return to normal. Maybe if she was lucky they could end up spending the rest of the day together. She wondered if he was done recording for today. Considering that it was almost 2:00, it was a possibility.

Panera Bread was only 10 minutes from her work. Mark hadn't specified a place when he had called; this place had become their default for lunch only a few months after she moved to LA. She found a parking spot right in the front row and immediately saw Mark already there, sitting at the bench right outside the front door, looking a bit restless. Harmony chuckled to herself. Typical Mark - early and never able to sit still for very long. He saw her as soon as she got out and stood up, smiling warmly at her.

"I'm so excited you're here," was the first thing he said to her as soon as she was close enough, and he wrapped his arms around her tightly. Today, however, he felt a little more rigid than usual, and as he hugged her close to him she could just faintly feel his heart beating rather rapidly. Was he... nervous about something?

She pulled back just barely enough to look up at him. He met her gaze steadily, half-smile still present on his lips. If he was nervous about something, he sure wasn't showing it anywhere in his expression. "You okay?" she wanted to know.

"Yeah, I'm great!" he answered enthusiastically as he turned to guide her into the doors of the restaurant with him. "But since I was an idiot this week and let myself get busy and not talk to you, I have a lot of things to tell you about!"

"Really?" Harmony wondered, eyebrows raised in surprise. "How much happened in only a few days?" What could he possibly need to tell her that was making him nervous?

Mark was grinning mischievously as he turned into the dining area to pick out a table instead of getting in line to order. "You'll see."

Now her eyebrows came together in confusion to form a crease in her forehead. "I'll see? What does that mean? And why aren't we ordering?" Something was really weird about all this. And the weirdest thing of it all was the way her best friend was acting.

Mark waved her over to join him at a table he had found that was big enough to seat 4. "I have a surprise," he revealed to her once she sat down.

"Wait... really?" Her mind went into overdrive imagining the wide variety of things that could mean. But really, with Mark, there was no telling. She had no idea how she was supposed to be feeling right now. "What kind of surprise?"

"You'll see," he said again, and she noticed that his brown eyes were fixed just past her right shoulder towards the door.

Baffled, she turned in her seat to follow his gaze, but nothing interesting was there. When she looked back at him, his fingers had started tapping rhythmically on the tabletop, but his gaze didn't falter. So he was nervous.

Was he waiting to tell her something? Was that what was making him so antsy? What would that be? Could he possibly - no, not yet. She couldn't get ahead of herself.

"Mark..." she started.

"Don't worry. It'll make sense in a minute. I'm trying to be... enigmatic... to build the suspense."

She just stared at him like he had just suggested they rob a bank. _Oh Lord, please don't let him make a fool of himself... whatever this is._

Suddenly, Mark smiled in a way that she wasn't sure she had ever really seen before. "Surprise," he murmured just loud enough for her to hear.

Eyes wide, Harmony followed his gaze once again back toward the door, unsure what on earth she was about to see, but when she looked there was still nothing there. Only a woman who had just walked in.

 _What?_

She looked back at Mark to question him again, but she saw him wave and it made her spin around again. Now that woman who had just walked in was smiling in their direction, and now she was walking towards them.

 _Wait_.

She whirled around to Mark again, and this time she finally registered his clothing choice for the day. He was wearing his famous lucky flannel and dark blue jeans, and from the majestic fluff of his hair she could tell that he most likely showered right before he left. Normally he spent his time during the day in nerdy shirts and basketball shorts. He only cleaned up like that when he was going out or had plans or...

 _Oh no._

 _No._

The puzzle that her mind started piecing together eliminated any traces of hunger she had when she had arrived. She watched that same woman approach their table, her eyes locked on Mark. He stood up to greet her, that same smile stuck on his face as they hugged. Harmony felt like she should stand as well, but she just couldn't get her legs to function.

"Sasha," Mark called to the woman, "this is my best friend Harmony." He turned to the blonde, seemingly unfazed that she was still sitting.

 _No._

 _Don't you dare. Please._

"Harmony, this is Sasha. My girlfriend."

 _No_.

For a moment, it was like she couldn't see anything, and all she could hear was her heart pounding wildly in her ears. It was like her stomach had dropped to her feet and she could feel herself beginning to tremble. There was no way this could be happening.

Girlfriend.

His girlfriend.

 _This_ was what had been keeping him away.

Her eyes began to sting and she blinked forcefully.

"Harmony?" She realized Mark was calling her, a look of concern on his face. At some point his arm had curled around Sasha's waist. Sasha was looking at her as well, her face a mask of indifference.

Harmony came back to the here and now, taking in a deep breath to try and steady herself. Her chest was tight and her eyes were prickling with hot tears, but she refused to let them go. Not here. She forced a curt nod, swallowing hard. "Yeah, sorry," she managed, clearing her throat in attempt to cover up the slight wavering in her voice. "I thought... I thought I forgot to lock up the office." She extended her arm to this black-haired woman beside her best friend. "Nice to meet you, Sasha."

Sasha took her hand and offered a weak handshake. "You too," she replied. "I've heard a lot about you."

Mark and Sasha took their seats across from Harmony. Harmony didn't move.

"I actually met Sasha last month at the gym where I've been going rock climbing," Mark explained as Sasha grabbed his hand that had been resting on the table. Harmony had to keep her eyes from gravitating towards the sight of their fingers linking together. Instead she gave a nod to show she was listening. But she kind of wasn't.

"We've been talking ever since," he went on, flashing Sasha a quick grin when she squeezed his hand. "I finally got up the nerve to ask her out as soon as I got back into town. And then I couldn't wait for her to meet my best friend." He smiled at Harmony. Harmony almost didn't catch it, but managed to return a quick, humorless smile at the last second.

They kept talking. They talked about all the time they spent talking on the phone over the past month, and how they had been on a few small dates right before he left for Ohio. She talked about her job as an interior decorator and how well she was doing there and she gushed about her recent promotion. Mark talked about his YouTube channel and she teased him about playing games for a living. They talked about how they struck up a conversation at the gym one day after taking turns climbing up the same wall. And somehow, someway, in all this time Harmony went through the motions with them. She nodded her way through their stories, she laughed when they laughed, and even asked a vague question here and there just to do her part in the conversation. But all this time all she could see in front of her was the man she had just fallen in love with, and the woman who had already taken him from her.

She felt further from him now than she did when he was on the other side of the country.

She felt a sob threaten to shake her, and she knew she couldn't hold it together much longer.

"Hey," Sasha nudged Mark. "You ready to order? I'm starving."

The way he looked at her even while she made such a simple statement was like he hung on every word she said, like it was the most important thing in the world to him. He smiled tenderly at her and nodded, and then he leaned forward to place a simple, quick kiss on her lips.

Harmony didn't remember standing up, but suddenly she was on her feet, her eyes glued to the imitation grain of the table's false wood top. Mark and Sasha both looked up at her in surprise.

"I'm sorry," Harmony mumbled. "I really have to go. I'm not... really feeling very well."

"Do you need anything?" Mark asked her worriedly.

Harmony shook her head. "I'm so sorry. I'll catch up with you guys later." She glanced up at Sasha just for a moment, just to be polite. "It was nice meeting you." She hoped the other woman couldn't see the moisture uncontrollably filling her eyes. With that, she turned and left without looking back.

Her chest was heaving and her legs felt like jelly by the time she got to her car. She collapsed into her seat, barely closing the door before everything finally fell apart, and she cried as if she would never stop. Sobs wracked her body as she helplessly wrapped her arms around herself, curling over until her forehead was pressing against the steering wheel. She squeezed her eyes shut, but the tears just wouldn't stop streaming down her face.

Her heart hurt so bad.

It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair. Why couldn't he have found Sasha months ago when she didn't love him and she could have been happy for him? Why now?

She wanted to hate him. She wanted to hate him so badly for not choosing her, and then parading this black-haired woman around, thinking she would be a good surprise for her. But she couldn't hate him at all. None of this was his fault. She would have been so excited for him if she hadn't fallen in love with him. She had even set him up on a date once with a co-worker of hers. But that was back in what felt like another life, back when she didn't want to be the woman that he looked at like the way he looked at Sasha. But now, all it did was hurt, and he didn't even know. He didn't even know what he did. He couldn't know. And she wanted to hate him for that, but she couldn't, because she was so madly in love with him.

She wanted to hate _her_. She wanted to hate her for ever going to that gym and striking up a conversation with him, for stealing him away from her with whatever black magic she cast on him. But she couldn't hate her because she didn't even know her. The resentment, however, was overwhelming.

It all just hurt so much.

He didn't choose her. She had been right. His heart wasn't changing like hers had. She was just a friend. She was only his best friend, while he had become everything she wanted.

"W-why not me?" she whispered, gasping for air between sobs. "Why?" But her car offered her no consolation.

She just wanted to crawl into his arms and just forget about everything, but she couldn't do that anymore, could she?

She had never felt so alone.

It hurt. It just hurt so badly. And now she didn't know what to do.


	8. Eight: The Game of Secrets

She didn't remember the drive home. In a haze almost like a dream she was barging into her apartment, slamming her door and tossing her keys carelessly onto the table with so much force that they slid across the smooth surface and fell to the floor. She didn't remember changing into her pajamas, but she found herself crawling into the sea of thick blankets on her bed, trying so desperately to stop the tears from falling. She had picked up her phone at one point to attempt to call Leah, but there were a few texts from Mark waiting for her that she just couldn't stand to look at right now. She just couldn't right now. Her chest and head were aching and her eyes were blurry and stinging. And the only thing that could comfort her was the one thing that she couldn't have anymore.

She felt lost and helpless. She had seen the end of this before it even began. Yet somehow she had allowed herself to have hope in this situation. She let Leah convince her that some good could come out of this mess. She let herself think that perhaps Mark could really fall for someone like her. But she knew better. She should have listened to her gut feelings. But because she didn't, now not only was her love unrequited, but now she couldn't hardly be around him because of it. At least not right now. It hurt too badly. How would she be able to go backwards and return to their regular friendship?

There was a reason why she was only his best friend; a "sister." She just wasn't what he wanted. She hadn't been good enough.

But Sasha was.

Fresh tears spilled over, sliding down to leave droplets on her pillow as she buried her face. It hurt to keep crying but she just couldn't stop. It went on and on as her thoughts spun out of control, tormenting her with all of the should-haves and what-could-have-beens. But then even through all of this, her ragged mind suddenly registered a weight that had been pressed down into the edge of the mattress. She froze and fell absolutely silent for a moment when she felt a hand lay softly on her back. Slowly, she lifted her face from the confines of her pillow. Red, glossy brown eyes met a second pair of brown eyes that were full of immeasurable worry that she could see even through the glasses that were in front of them.

"Hey," Mark murmured, giving her a half-smile, but the deep concern in his expression kept it from its full potential. "I just wanted to come by and check on you."

She wanted to laugh and sob at the same time. She couldn't speak.

"Talk to me, Harmony," he whispered. "What's wrong? How can I help?"

 _You can't help_ , she thought bitterly to herself, closing her eyes to stop more tears from falling, but it was useless. _No one can help._

"Can you tell me what happened?" he tried again, brushing away some blonde hair that had stuck to the moisture on her face.

More tears. Oh so many tears. "I can't," she admits sorrowfully, her voice thick and foreign even to her own ears.

Mark understood. Over the course of their friendship, he had always been there to comfort her during tough patches and a few hard times. But there had been a few times that she did not or could not share what it was that was bothering her. Harmony always respected confidentiality between herself and her friends when it came to certain things, and sometimes she didn't want to share something that she had promised to keep to herself, or sometimes it was something she was struggling with internally that she just didn't want to talk about. Mark respected that and never pushed or pried, instead keeping himself available to offer comfort and support to her. But today he wasn't sure if he had ever seen her so distraught, and it pained him that she did not want to share her struggle with him. So he did what he could and reached out to help her sit up, slowly and delicately taking her into his arms.

The blankets fell away from her as she clung to him and couldn't help but sob all over again, leaving teardrops on the soft fabric of his lucky flannel. She didn't know if this was a blessing or if it was torture. This was exactly what she wanted, but not like this. He belonged to someone now, and that someone was not her. It was killing her to have him here right now - so close yet so far - but she couldn't turn him away, partly because she still wanted him so badly and partly because he would really know something was up if she did something like that.

Maybe if they could just stay like this for a while, she could close her eyes and pretend that he was hers, that there was no Sasha and she was the one he had chosen. Just for a little bit.

Time lost them for a while. Her tears fell until it seemed like there were no more that could possibly fall. Everything ached. But all this time he held onto her tightly, never wavering, rocking her once in a while and lightly resting his head against hers. But no matter how much time had passed, it still felt much too soon when he pulled away to look at her. She hated to meet his eyes with the way she looked and felt, but in all honesty she couldn't resist it in their close proximity. He kept his hands on her shoulders and she watched him as he searched her face, apprehension still shadowing his features. She hated to be the one responsible for that look on his face, but right now she couldn't do anything about it.

"I wish you could tell me what's wrong," Mark murmured, his eyes glassy as if he might shed tears as well. "It hurts to see you upset."

Harmony only bowed her head. "I'm sorry." He couldn't know. He couldn't ever know. She couldn't risk losing him any more than she already had.

"Argh," he grumbled as he glanced over at her alarm clock. "I gotta go. Sasha is coming over to meet Matt and Ryan." He somehow seemed both reluctant and anxious. "She had to stop by her office for a while after lunch." He paused. "Will you be okay? Is there anything I can get you? I can come by again after she leaves if you'd like."

Harmony shook her head, trying to brush away some of the lingering tears with the back of her hand. "I'll be okay," she replied.

Mark reached past her to her nightstand where a little box of tissues always sat and pulled out a few. "Here," he whispered, and when she looked up he gently dabbed more of the moisture away from her swollen eyes. "I hate seeing you cry."

"I'm sorry-" she started, but he cut in.

"No, you don't need to be sorry for that. I just wish I could fix it." He sighed again. "Sasha will be here any minute. The four of us are gonna play games and get dinner together. Maybe you can drop by later if you feel better?"

Harmony tried to cover up the pained expression that wanted to pass across her face. "Maybe."

"Hey." He laid a hand on her arm and gave it a comforting squeeze. "No pressure, though. I totally understand if you don't feel up to it." That half-smile made a quick appearance, but this time he wasn't looking at her. "I'm just excited for you and Sasha to get to know each other. I would love for my best friend and girlfriend to be friends, too." But then solemnity returned as he turned his gaze back to her. "I want you to let me know if you need anything, okay?"

She gave him a weak nod. It didn't curb his concern in the least bit, but if he didn't get back to his place now Sasha would get there and meet his roommates without him and he knew that would be awkward for her. He just really, really hated to leave Harmony like this... especially in the state she was in right now. How he wished he knew what had hurt her so badly today. He wondered for a moment if it was something he had done, but he made himself let that go because she had always been so good about being open about their friendship and telling him when he was being an idiot. With another sigh he wrapped her up into another long hug before he forced himself to peel away from her, reminding himself that his new girlfriend would be waiting on him, and he needed to make sure he still made good impressions. He felt like his feet were dragging as he walked himself out of the room, glancing back to give Harmony one more encouraging smile before the doorway blocked her from his view as he passed through the hall. He lost himself in his thoughts for a few moments until he reached his front door. He found himself wishing that Harmony was with him as he pulled out his keys, but at that moment Sasha came around the corner, her hazel eyes full of uncertainty as she read the apartment number on each door she passed.

"Hey!" he called to her with a wave. "You made it!"

Sasha looked up with a start at his shout, but smiled coolly when she saw her boyfriend waving at her down the hall.

"It wasn't too hard," she told him once she was close enough to avoid shouting, smile still evident as she reached up and stole a kiss from him.

Mark grinned. "Good," he replied. "Come in."

"Markiplier and Girliplier!" Matt's voice boomed as soon as the front door opened. He and Ryan were clambering down the stairs as Mark and Sasha made it into the living room, but they both came to a sudden stop when they laid eyes on the black-haired woman beside their friend.

"Okay... not Girliplier," Ryan corrected Matt, their eyebrows raised in surprise at the newcomer.

"What's 'Girliplier'?" Sasha questioned her boyfriend.

"Sorry," Matt spoke up again. He cleared his throat. "We thought Harmony was here... but welcome anyway!"

"Sasha, this is Matt and Ryan," Mark began, trying to regain control of this awkward introduction and indicating Matt and Ryan respectively. "This is my new girlfriend, Sasha."

"Girlfriend?" Ryan and Matt both echoed, almost in unison.

"Nice," Matt recovered first, coming forward to shake Sasha's hand. "Sorry about that whole 'Girliplier' thing. That's just an inside joke."

"That's okay," Sasha replied slowly.

Ryan shook her hand as well, still looking a bit mystified. "Well, nice to meet you, Sasha."

"You as well."

Matt went over to pat Mark on the shoulder. "Good job, bro."

"Yeah, congrats," Ryan put in.

"I was thinking we could start with some games until we get hungry," Mark said, making another attempt to break the awkwardness he could still feel in the room.

The guys agreed with each other as Sasha spoke up, "Mind if I use your restroom before we start?"

"Sure thing," Mark replied and pointed down the hall.

As soon as she disappeared into the bathroom, Ryan and Matt swooped in on Mark. "How long has this been a thing?" the blonde wanted to know, curiosity and surprise clear in his voice. "I didn't know you were seeing anybody."

"I know," Mark grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. The past few weeks have been pretty hectic. We officially started dating as soon as I got back into town."

"I'm just surprised I've never heard you talk about her," Ryan remarked.

"I told you guys I met her at the gym." He furrowed a brow. "Why'd you guys expect Harmony anyway? I said I was bringing Sasha over here."

"No, your text just said you were bringing a girl over," Matt explained, keeping his voice low so Sasha couldn't overhear. "We hadn't heard anything about any possible girlfriend so we just thought you meant Harmony."

"Or maybe you finally got smart and asked Harmony out," Ryan muttered.

Matt's mouth formed a perfect 'O' at Ryan's remark as Mark's eyebrows shot up. "Say what?"

Things were getting more awkward instead of less awkward.

"Nothing, man," Ryan replied with a shrug. "I just thought it would've been Harmony before some other chick that you haven't even mentioned since you said you met her rock climbing. But it's cool. I'm happy for you either way." He patted Mark on the back. "Congrats," he said again.

"Thanks," Mark said, "but you guys know I couldn't date Harmony. She's like my sister."

Ryan and Matt exchanged a look.

"What?" Mark wanted to know, glancing between the two of them.

"Are you sure she's just a sister?" Matt asked.

"What do you mean?"

Matt gave a bit of a chuckle and shook his head. "Don't worry about it, bro. Your new lady is coming. Let's just start with some Cards Against Humanity."

Sasha returned and gave Mark a smile as she sat down on the couch with him and Ryan. Matt picked up the box of cards as Mark grabbed Sasha's hand, fervently hoping that Harmony was okay.

* * *

 ** _A/N: Sorry for the delay. Rough week. Leave some love please? Thanks for reading. :)_**


	9. Nine: The Game of Recovery

Harmony awoke with a start to the sound of her phone ringing. She wanted to groan at the cheerful melody it was playing and the way it contrasted with her mood. She rolled over only to realize she was tangled up in her sheets and her phone was somewhere in the bed. She hastily ripped the blankets off of her, searching until she finally found it underneath her pillow.

It was Leah.

"Hello?" she croaked, her voice thick and raspy.

"Hey, girl," Leah replied, concern instantly dropping into her tone, "what's up? You okay? You sound awful."

Harmony heaved a long sigh, rubbing her sore, swollen eyes with a fist. She must have cried herself to sleep at some point. "I'm okay," she mumbled.

"No, you're not."

"Bad day." Her voice caught and she grimaced, feeling emotions stir up again at the thought of how exactly her day had been.

"Oh no. How bad? Sounds bad. Sounds worse than the last time we talked."

Harmony tried. She really did try. She tried so hard not to cry again, but the tears came flowing anyway. "Mark..." she tried to begin.

"Oh no, what did Mark do?" Leah cut in anxiously.

"Today... he introduced me to... to his girlfriend." She took in a shuttering breath. "He invited me out to lunch... and... 'surprised' me by inviting her, too."

"His _girlfriend_?!" Leah cried. She sputtered for a few seconds before she could form words again. "What? Are you serious? Since when?!"

"I guess since he got back in town." She wiped away tears from her sore eyes. "I guess they've sort of been seeing each other for like, a month."

"A month!" was Leah's outraged response. "Who does that guy think he is?!"

"Leah, he didn't know-"

"No, screw that! With the way he acted around you... How dare he treat you that way! He practically led you on!"

"No, he didn't," Harmony defended her best friend. "We've always been that way with each other since the beginning... before anyone had feelings for anyone. It's not... It's not his fault I fell in love with him while he was going after another girl."

Leah was silent for a while, until eventually she gave a long sigh. "You're right, girl, I'm sorry. I just... wanna be mad at someone. I'm sorry I pushed you to go after him."

"It's not your fault, either," Harmony told her friend. "You couldn't have known. No one knew except... for him, I guess."

"Well, I already know I don't like whoever this girl is. I'm still sorry."

"I know. I'm sorry, too."

"Well, I'm coming over tonight. I hope that's okay. I've already left."

A smile managed to make a brief appearance on Harmony's face, despite the tear streaks on her reddened cheeks. "That sounds great."

"Good. I wasn't gonna give you a choice anyway now that I know how your day has been. You're in no shape to be alone tonight."

"Thanks, Leah," Harmony murmured.

"Did you have anything planned tonight?" asked Leah. "Any videos or anything?"

"I finished my videos for the weekend last night." And boy was she ever thankful for that. There was no way she could record right now in her current state. She also did not forget that Mark had invited her over tonight, but there was no way she could handle that right now, either.

"Good, you're all mine tonight then. I'm about 30 minutes out, and I'm bringing dinner 'cause I bet you haven't eaten."

"Thank you," Harmony said again.

"Of course. You know I got you."

And she did. Harmony had only been working with Leah for a few weeks when her boyfriend at the time broke up with her. She had been dating him for several months, but after she moved to LA he had decided he didn't want to deal with long distance and ended their relationship through a text. It had shaken Harmony up quite a bit, especially because he had been so supportive of her move down here. But Leah wasted no time inviting her to her place for movies, ice cream and serious girl time. Both Leah and Mark had helped take out a bit of the sting of breakups. And although this was no breakup, in some ways it felt similar.

They said their goodbyes and Harmony laid back on her pillow for a while, staring blankly up at the ceiling as the silence of her apartment enveloped her. Immediately her thoughts jumped to her best friend, although she didn't think he had ever really left her mind; Leah's phone call had only been a temporary distraction from him. She wanted to go over there. She wanted to see him and talk to him, but not with _her_ there. She had only met Sasha once and already she was ready for her to leave. She wondered what they were up to right now. They were probably in the middle of a game, laughing and having a great time, and Mark was probably winning at whatever it was they were playing. Or maybe he was letting Sasha win. Maybe his arm was around Sasha like it often was around Harmony, but with her it had a different meaning. She doubted Matt and Ryan were teasing either of them about Girliplier. She wondered if they liked Sasha. Sasha was probably all over Mark. She couldn't stop touching him while they were at Panera Bread. Maybe they were in their own stupid world, cuddling or making out somewhere. Whatever they were doing, Harmony knew that Sasha was at the center of his attention. That was just the way he was.

Harmony curled up onto her side and screwed her eyes shut. She was torturing herself with this train of thought. But she couldn't help it. She just wanted to be there so badly in Sasha's place. She wanted him to look at her the way he looked at Sasha.

It made her heart hurt so much.

She laid there, feeling sorry for herself all the way up until she heard her doorbell ring. With a long sigh she emerged from her bed, feeling slow and stiff as she shuffled down the hallway.

Today had had so much potential, too.

She was greeted by her brunette friend on the other side of the door, arms full of both plastic and paper grocery sacks, along with a duffel bag and a laptop bag. Leah shouted a quick hello and made a bee-line to empty her arms onto the table.

"Wow, Leah," Harmony commented as she glanced over all of the things her friend had brought. "I totally would've helped you carry some of this in."

Leah waved a dismissive hand. "Nonsense," she proclaimed. "Tonight is all about you taking it easy. I got this." She motioned to the table. "I brought ice cream and cookies, a few video games and a lot of movies that I'm pretty sure you don't have here. Dinner is from Chili's because I knew you'd like that. And-" She stepped away from the table and indicated her clothing choice. "I knew you'd be in pajamas or sweats so I thought it was only fitting to dress accordingly." She was wearing dark blue pajamas bottoms that were spotted with yellow stars, and a black teeshirt with Harmony's YouTube logo on it that she had given her before she moved to Santa Ana.

"You're so good to me, Leah," Harmony said with a smile, but all of this care and attention to detail on her friend's part was so overwhelming for her over sensitive emotions that her smile almost looked sad, and her lips and chin wanted to quiver.

Leah frowned in sympathy. "Come here, darling." She stepped forward and embraced the blonde in a comforting hug.

Harmony hugged Leah tightly and let a few tears fall, but she tried to focus on calming down. She had cried more today than she had in a very long time.

"Come on," Leah encouraged after a few moments of silence, "I know what'll help. Food will help." She broke off the embrace to flash Harmony a smile. "Dinner and a movie. We're eating on the couch."

Harmony raised a brow in amusement as Leah turned to unpack one of the paper bags full of to-go containers. "I do have a table to use for eating."

Leah paused to scoff at Harmony's remark. "Oh please, that's for everyday and that's boring. Tonight is different. Throw the regular rules out the window. We can even eat dessert first if you want."

Harmony couldn't help but chuckle at her friend's dedication to cheering her up as she watched Leah separate the containers into two stacks. Suddenly one of the stacks was shoved into her hands and she was ordered to go sit on the couch. Harmony did as told and soon Leah joined her with two giant bottles of Smart Water, handing the blonde one of them.

"I'm sure you've cried buckets today and I don't blame you," Leah said, "but you'll feel even worse in a while if you don't hydrate."

Harmony smiled and thanked her as she took it and attempted to make an effort in eating her dinner. Her appetite hadn't really returned, but she knew she needed to eat. She hadn't had anything at all since her coffee and toast this morning before she had left to run her errands... and then meet with Mark for lunch who gave her one of the worst surprises he could have ever possibly-

"Hello?"

Leah's hand was waving in front of her face and her head shot up in surprise as she stopped picking at her chicken.

"What's going on in that brain of yours?" asked Leah.

"Oh," Harmony mumbled, "sorry."

"No zoning out tonight," Leah admonished her, emphasizing her request as she pointed her plastic fork at her. "Thinking gets us into trouble in moods like this because we think and overthink." She nodded to the TV. "This'll help distract us."

Harmony realized that Leah had already started one of her movies at some point. She watched a few seconds of the opening before she started grinning and she raised an eyebrow.

"This is Finding Nemo."

Leah was smirking from ear to ear. "You bet it is. _This_ is how to start a girls night."

Despite how sad she felt, she couldn't stop the laughter that came tumbling from her lips. It felt good to do that.

She owed Leah big time.

Harmony was able to eat half of her meal as they watched the movie together, quoting some of the lines in unison. The end of the movie found them giggling with each other as they told each other random stories while they shared a box of cookies. At some point in the evening they started up Harmony's Wii U to take turns on Super Mario Maker, which mostly resulted in fits of both rage and laughter. Eventually they left the game on the Pause Screen to get up for ice cream and when they came back they got sucked into watching YouTube videos on Leah's laptop (they were both very careful to avoid Markiplier's channel).

Harmony felt good. Her face was still sore and she knew the shadow of her new reality between herself and her best friend still loomed over her, but at least for now she was able to push it aside. Maybe she could think about it later, when she was in a better mindset.

That was, until she realized Leah was staring at her pensively from the opposite end of the couch.

"What?" asked Harmony.

"So I was thinking... and I just wanna say one thing about this new situation we have on our hands now with your other best friend."

Harmony nodded and prepared herself to breach this topic once again.

"All of this just means one thing," Leah said. She stopped to watch her friend as mild confusion passed across her rosy face.

"What do you mean?" Harmony wanted to know.

"You just have some competition, that's all."

"Competition?" Harmony echoed.

"Yeah. You just have to be way more awesome than this broad that's distracting your man from you. You know, maybe he'll see what he's missing out on and kick her butt outta here." She shrugged. "Not a bad way to look at it, right?"

Harmony let her gaze wander idly around the room as she quietly considered Leah's suggestion.

"I mean, I'm not saying seduce him or anything," the brunette went on. "You don't wanna cross any lines. Just... Maybe don't run from this quite yet. Just be you and be around him as much as you're allowed to. I'm not saying it's a guarantee to make any certain thing happen one way or the other. But don't you think it's worth a shot?"

Several moments passed before Harmony started to nod hesitantly. "I can see what you mean," she replied slowly, still turning things over in her mind. "Maybe there's still a chance?"

"Yeah. A small one maybe. I mean he's just dating her right now. He's not marrying her yet." She leaned forward and fished out two cookies from the box they had left at the foot of the couch, handing her friend one of them. "It might not be easy, either. It might be really hard. But maybe worth it?" She shrugged. "Or it might not. I just think it's too soon to give up completely on the man you love. That's just my thought, though. I want you to do whatever you think is best for you. I just want you to be happy."

Harmony smiled softly. "Thanks, Leah. That does give me something to think about."

Leah nodded and picked up the Wii U gamepad. "Enough of that stuff now," she told the blonde, "let's annihilate this stupid level once and for all."

Harmony giggled as she turned her attention to the TV just in time to watch her friend die almost immediately. But before Leah could even restart the level, they both heard the sound of a key sliding into the lock of Harmony's front door.

The game was paused once again and Leah was on her feet in an instant, taking charge of the situation like she always liked to. She bolted for the front door even though this wasn't even her home, but Harmony let her. She stayed right where she was on the couch, her brown eyes fixed on the door.

* * *

 ** _A/N: Holy crap. Thank you SO MUCH for all of the reviews, favorites and follows! I am so blessed! The reviews you guys left me are honestly the exact reviews that every writer hopes to receive someday... and after feeling pretty discouraged for a while, they were just the thing to lift my spirits! I am so floored! It is a joy to write for you guys, I truly hope you all continue to enjoy this... sorry for the delay... I was working hard to finish making a cosplay for a convention this past weekend! But I'm back now!_**


	10. Ten: The Game of Lies

Leah already knew who was on the other side of the door. She grabbed the handle and practically threw it open. "Hello, Mark."

Mark was still in the process of returning his keys to his pocket when he looked up with a start. "Oh... Hi, Leah," he greeted in surprise.

"Here for Harmony?" Leah questioned, leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed and effectively blocking his view of the blonde inside.

"Uh, yeah," he replied, scratching the back of his neck. "Sorry... I didn't realize she had company tonight. I didn't mean to interrupt."

"I'm not sure if she's really up for visitors right now," Leah told him. She had already decided that she wasn't mad at him. Harmony was right when she pointed out that this wasn't his fault. But she also knew that Harmony was in a sensitive mood tonight.

"It's okay, Leah," a quiet voice came behind her.

The brunette twisted around to eye her friend, whose face was hovering just above the back of the couch. "You sure?" she inquired with a raised eyebrow.

Harmony nodded as she rose up from the couch. Her expression was a bit grim and it gave Leah a hunch that she was up to something.

"Is he alone?" the blonde practically mouthed so Mark couldn't hear.

Leah nodded, the look on her face questioning what Harmony was about to do, but the blonde only waved a dismissive hand. "Just give us a minute," she whispered to her. "I have to take care of something."

Leah looked a bit perturbed, but she moved away from the door as her friend approached. Harmony stepped out into the hall and barely had the door closed before strong arms encircled her and held her tightly as if she would fade away if they let her go. She turned just enough to be able to wrap her arms around him in return, burying her face in the crook of his neck. Somehow his grasp grew impossibly tighter.

"I came over as soon as Sasha left," Mark murmured. "I've been worried about you all evening."

"I'm okay," she reassured him.

Mark pulled back to look at her and she tried not to pay attention to his hands lingering on her waist. "Harmony," he started, holding her gaze so intensely she could see the concern still swirling in his chocolate irises. "I don't think I've ever seen you as hurt as you've been today where you couldn't tell me what happened."

He was right, too. The only other time he had ever seen her this upset was when her ex left her, but that time she had told him what had happened almost immediately and between him and Leah, she was never alone. The few things she didn't share with him were just stupid things that didn't matter in the end like a petty argument with a friend or not feeling well because of "that" time of the month. She knew that keeping something so obviously big from him was hurting him and she felt so guilty, but how could she possibly tell him when it was all _about_ him?

"I just want to make sure you're really okay," he went on. "I'm glad Leah is here for you at least and I hope she's taking good care of you."

"She is," she murmured.

"I just wanna be there for you, too. I want to do what I can for you, I just don't know how to help because I don't know what hurt you."

Harmony's gaze fell to the pairs of their feet as she chewed on her bottom lip, her heart heavy for so many reasons. She knew she needed to tell him something. Anything. For his sake. That was why she had come out here in the first place. To tell him _something_. But she had hoped she would have come up with a better plan by now than the first one she had thought of, but there was nothing else.

"I didn't want to tell you because I was embarrassed," she explained hesitantly. She let her arms slide down from around his neck and her hands came to rest gently against his chest. He did not let go. Taking in a deep breath, she silently asked herself if she really wanted to go through with this, but before she could answer herself, words were tumbling from her lips. "Do you remember that fan we met back in January? Derek?"

"Derek?" Mark echoed, frowning as he tried to match a face to the name.

"We met him at that comedy club when the Grumps guys couldn't come with us."

His uncertainty started to give way to vague distaste. "You mean that one guy that fangirled over us and then insisted that he sat with us and wouldn't stop bothering us during the show?"

Harmony winced internally at the memory. Several months ago, it had become a thing for Mark and Harmony to join some of the Game Grumps and check out shows at the local comedy clubs. One evening the two of them went out anyway even though Arin, Suzy, Danny and Brian had to bail. They ended up encountering a guy who was apparently a huge fan of both Markiplier and LetHarpiePlay. He invited himself to sit with them to chat them up. He instantly took a real liking to Harmony, subtly flirting with her at first, but as the show went on his intentions became more and more obvious and he started to lean in closer and closer to her. In turn, Mark became more and more protective of her, and had apparently had enough when the guy went to make a move on her, bringing Mark right out of his chair and flat-out demanding that the guy left them alone. Taken aback, the guy made the comment that Mark was acting more like her boyfriend than anything else, which made both YouTubers blush profusely. At that point, they both decided to leave even though the show still had about ten minutes left. But what Mark never knew was that the guy had slipped her his phone number. And she was going to try to take advantage of that right now.

"What about him?" Mark prompted her when she remained silent.

She couldn't get herself to meet his eyes.

"What happened?" he questioned, this time his voice full of dread.

She braced herself. "He gave me his number and we started talking." She was looking anywhere except at him. "We actually started seeing each other a lot... it was going really well for quite a while..." She stopped for a second and closed her eyes. She could feel herself slipping. "It was really good until... until I found out he was dating someone else and I had no idea." She thought of losing Mark to Sasha, and suddenly she dissolved into new tears. "I'm so sorry," she cried. "I just feel so stupid. I feel so stupid for thinking something could actually happen between us. I shouldn't have ever gone after him. I should have never let it go as far as it did. I thought I could be good enough, but I wasn't. I'm so embarrassed that I let myself fall so hard." She shook her head, covering her face with her hands. "This was never supposed to happen. We were just supposed to be friends, that's all. I wasn't supposed to fall for him. I didn't want to but I couldn't help it. I wasn't good enough. I feel so stupid. So, so stupid..."

The hands that had been grasping her waist pulled her forward again until his embrace was surrounding her once more, this time so tightly that she almost felt like she couldn't breathe. But she didn't care. She snaked her arms around him where they had been before as he bent over to press his face gently against her neck. Her forehead came to rest against his shoulder as sobs shook her. She wanted to take solace in the strength and safety of his arms, but all she could think about were all the words she had just spoken... all those things she just said to him, _about_ him... and he still had no idea.

"I'm so sorry," she sobbed breathlessly.

Mark pulled away from her as both of his hands slid upward to cup her teary face in them, guiding her to meet his eyes. His expression was full of anguish as he looked at her, and as a lone tear slid down his cheek she realized he was crying, too. Her heart broke even more.

"I'm so sorry that you had to deal with all of that," Mark murmured to her, his voice heavy with so much emotion. "It hurts me to know that you're going through this, but..." he gave her a small, fleeting smile, "thank you for telling me. Thank you." He brushed away some of her falling tears with his thumbs. "I don't want you to ever think you're not good enough, Harmony. You are always good enough. You are more than good enough. You are amazing. You are truly one of the most amazing people I know. If that guy can't see that, then he is not good enough for you. You are smart, creative, successful, and beautiful. If he can't see that then it is his loss, not yours. Never yours. I'm so sorry that he hurt you like this. You don't deserve to feel like this. Ever."

The irony brought even more tears down her face and such a fierce pang deep in her heart.

What a beautiful tragedy this was.

He gazed at her for just a little bit longer before he sniffled and pulled one of his hands away to wipe at his eyes and she had to look away from him to try and make a pitiful attempt to gather herself.

"Why didn't you tell me about this guy, Harmony?"

The question made her head snap right back to lock eyes with him. He looked a bit hurt now, his eyes glassy and the corners of his mouth pulled down in a slight frown. His hands had gone back down to softly grasp her waist. She took a few moments to try and sort out her muddled thoughts and remember who he was talking about. He waited. He was patient.

"I had no idea you were seeing someone," he added.

"Why didn't you tell me about Sasha?" The words flew out of her mouth before she should stop them, and once they were said they couldn't be taken back. Harmony's heart raced.

Mark finally tore his gaze away from her, shaking his head and running a hand through his hair as he took a step backward, heaving a long sigh. Harmony hung on every moment of silence that filled the hall.

"I really didn't handle that one very well, did I?" he finally spoke. "I'm sorry. I kind of left everyone in the dark on that one."

"Why?" she dared to whisper as she crossed her arms as if she were cold.

He shrugged and shook his head again. "Everything was so chaotic and she just popped up in the middle of that chaos... I guess I was just trying to see where things went before I started talking about her, but I didn't really mean to put it off for so long." He came back to her to envelop her in another hug. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

Harmony closed her eyes as he held her. "I'm sorry, too."

They stood like that for a long time until they heard Harmony's front door open, but neither of them looked up. A third pair of arms came around them as Leah wordlessly hugged them both.

"It's getting pretty late," the brunette eventually announced as the three of them pulled away from each other, although she noticed he wasn't quite as eager to let go of her friend. She turned to Harmony, who was wiping at her eyes. "Come on," she told her, "with the day you've had, you should try and get some sleep."

Harmony nodded reluctantly. She didn't want Mark to leave, but she knew Leah was right and she was sure he needed to get home anyway. She turned to head inside when Mark caught her arm and she glanced back at him as he gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"Don't hesitate to let me know if you need anything," he said. "I'm here for you no matter what."

"But Sasha-" she objected.

"I know," he cut her off gently. "I know I'll be a little busier now spending time with her and all, but my best friend is still just as important to me as she was before. Nothing will change that."

"Okay." She gave him her best attempt at a smile before he turned to head down the hall and she went back inside, closing the door softly behind her and leaning heavily against it, lost in her thoughts.

"You okay, hun?" Leah asked as she came up next to her.

"I don't know," the blonde answered honestly as she locked the door and dragged herself away from it.

"What happened? What did you tell him?"

"I told him what happened today."

Leah froze. "Wait... what? You told him what happened? What does that mean?"

"He wanted to know what happened today that made me so upset, so I told him."

Leah let her jaw hang open. "You told him you're in love with him?"

"No," Harmony grumbled as she grabbed her phone from where she had been sitting on the couch. "I told him everything I'm feeling... but I made him think it was about another guy."

"You told him you were in love with some random dude?" Leah's eyes were as wide as saucers. She looked like she had just heard the latest gossip about her arch rival or something.

"I never used the word 'love,'" she corrected her, pausing to give her a significant look. "I said... I said I had been seeing a guy who basically dumped me. It was the best I could come up with."

"So you lied to him."

"I had to tell him something!" Harmony exclaimed. "That's the curse of my friendship with him, I guess. We literally tell each other everything. I never thought that would come bite me in the butt when I fall in love with him and then realize I can't ever tell him that... and of course he's going to think something is seriously wrong when for the first time ever I can't tell him what happened."

"Hey, it's okay, girl," Leah replied in defense, holding her hands up in mock surrender. "I totally understand. I'm just... surprised is all. But you gotta do what you gotta do. Just... sounds like something I would do." She gave her a smirk to try and lighten up the mood a little. "Am I rubbing off on you now?"

Once again, Harmony found herself grinning through the tears that still lingered in her eyes. "Guess so." But after a moment she frowned. "I just feel so bad. I feel awful and guilty and it hurts..."

Leah appeared beside her again to offer her another hug. "It's okay," she said again. "You need sleep, girl. You'll feel better in the morning. Come on. I'll clean up out here." She turned the blonde around until she was facing the hallway to her bedroom. "Go."

"Do you need any blankets or anything?" Harmony asked.

"I'll get everything myself. Go!"

Harmony smiled softly as she headed off to bed. Her heart and body still ached and her eyes were so tired from crying, but she was grateful she was cared for.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Holy crap, I'm back from convention to more follows, faves and reviews!**_ _ **Thank you all so much for the love! You guys are seriously awesome. Please let me know what you think of this book so far! You all are fabulous.**_


	11. Eleven: Restarting the Game

Mark hummed in satisfaction as he took off his headphones and set them down on his desk, quickly double-checking to make sure all of his files were in the correct folder for Matt to edit later. He had spent a good portion of his day recording the last of the videos that he was behind on from his time spent out of town. He had started off with some fun and slightly silly games at first, but after that he ended up hammering out a bunch of episodes of a horror game he had just started that had some pretty solid jump scares that really got him a few times. His heart was still racing and his body was tense from the anticipation and dread that all horror games brought out in him, but overall he was feeling really good. As of now, he was officially caught up. He leaned back and stretched, trying to loosen up some of his muscles before he reached over and snatched up his phone. His text conversation with Harmony popped up as soon as he unlocked it, but no new messages had been delivered to him in the past few hours.

He hadn't seen her since Saturday, but that wasn't very surprising once he learned that Leah had planned on staying with her through Monday. She had brought her laptop with her in order to stay that extra weekday in LA and not have to worry about needing to go into the office until today. He had texted Harmony first thing this morning to check up on her since it was her first day being alone after everything that went down, but by the appearance of her messages she seemed to be doing all right. He knew she was a strong woman and that she would be able to heal, but he still worried about her. He wished that he could have seen her more, but not only was she busy with Leah, but he had also been pretty busy himself spending time at Sasha's condo in the evenings. He didn't have as many opportunities to text Harmony when he was hanging out with his girlfriend, but he could tell that Harmony understood and respected that. He appreciated it, but he also missed talking with her as much as he used to.

Still heavily leaning back in his chair, he reached over to the mouse to click over to his home page on YouTube, seeking out Harmony's channel. He was glad to see that she was still uploading regularly, and after clicking on her most recent video he could see that she still looked and sounded wonderful. He grinned to himself as he picked his headphones back up, sliding one side over his ear to watch her review Majora's Mask 3D, comparing it to the original released in 2000. He was really proud of her. They had met through YouTube when she had less than a million subscribers, and now she was nearing 3 million. He knew that it wasn't only about the numbers, but he was proud of her for the work she poured into her channel for her fans while still maintaining another job at the same time. He was impressed by her dedication and loved seeing her channel growing. He suspected she would reach her milestone sometime this week and wondered what she planned on doing to celebrate. He wanted to celebrate with her, if he could.

The video had just ended when he heard the handle of his bedroom door turn. Yanking off his headphones again, he spun around in his chair, grinning as he awaited the sight of curly blonde hair and warm brown eyes because she was the only person that ever came into his room while he was recording. She hadn't come over here on her own to see him since before he went out of town, so he felt this had been long overdue. But as the door opened all the way, what he saw instead was straight black hair, hazel eyes and ruby red lipstick.

"Oh hey, Sasha!" he greeted in shock and slight confusion.

Sasha smiled as she shut the door behind her, glancing around his room as she took a few steps further in. He hadn't taken her up here yet. "Hi, baby," she replied as her gaze settled on him. "Just thought I'd drop by your place tonight. Surprised?"

"Well, yeah... but that's great! I just... didn't really expect you up here." His head tilted slightly to the side. "How, uh... how did you get in?"

"Oh, Matt let me in and told me you were up here," she answered with a little shrug. She came around the bed towards him and bent down to meet her bright red lips with his. She glanced up at his computer screen as she stood upright, studying the window that was still open on his internet browser. "What are you up to? Done playing video games?"

Mark glanced back at his computer screen. "Oh, I just finished recording," he replied as he started closing out all of his windows and programs. "I was just checking out some other videos before I headed downstairs."

"Was that your friend's video you were on?" she inquired, watching his screen until only his desktop remained.

"Harmony? Yeah, I was just seeing how she was doing after her rough weekend."

"I see. And?"

"She'll be all right. I knew she would be."

Sasha merely gave a brief nod before she sat back on his bed and kicked off her shoes. "So what do you wanna do tonight?" she wanted to know. "After dinner we should bake something delicious for dessert and then watch movies. Today was a crazy day at work so I'm ready to relax." She glanced over at his TV across the room. "We should watch movies in here!" She stopped herself when she realized he was just looking at her smiling. "What?"

He shook his head. "You're cute," he said simply. "How late do you wanna stay? I'm recording a group video tonight, remember?"

Her bottom lip just barely poked out in a slight pout as she frowned. "Oh, I forgot that was tonight," she admitted.

He reached over to take her hand in his from where it sat on her lap. "We can still make dinner together, though. Ryan won't even be home for a while still so we have time." He smiled at her again. "I like cooking with you."

Sasha smiled, a light shade of pink dusting her cheeks. "Oh yeah?" she purred. She tugged on his hand until he got up from his chair, falling back on the bed to pull him down with her. He let himself fall down with a chuckle, ending up beside her and rolling to his side to face her. She turned her head to look at him. "What else do you like?" she wondered.

"Lots of things," he replied, contemplating for a moment. "I like rock climbing with you... and watching movies with you. I like our deep conversations we get into and I like your laugh and your smile." He lightly tapped her on the nose. "You make me smile."

Sasha sighed. "You sure you can't cancel with the guys tonight?" she asked.

"We really want to get this video out this week," he explained to her. "Matt's probably already setting up downstairs and everyone is excited. Why don't you stay and watch?"

Sasha gave a faint hum as she stared up at the ceiling, looking a little unsure. "I don't know," she muttered. "What is this video for anyway?"

"We're doing the Whisper Challenge. We usually do it with Matthias at his place but we're gonna give it a shot here. Have you seen it before?"

She shook her head and shrugged again.

"You should watch tonight then! It's kind of like a game of Telephone, only better. It gets pretty hilarious. We might do a second challenge, too. Maybe 7 Seconds or something."

Sasha shifted her gaze back to him again, looking as if she was debating on whether to stay or not, but then she smiled and laid a hand against the side of his face. "Okay," she finally agreed.

Mark gave her a wide smile. "Awesome!" he exclaimed, moving her hand to briefly press his lips against it. "I think you'll like it. And you get a sort of behind-the-scenes look at us, too!"

A faint buzzing sound emanated from somewhere in the room, catching Sasha's ear and she furrowed a brow. "Is that your phone?" she asked.

Mark sat up to get a look at his phone still sitting on the desk. Sure enough, the screen was lit up. "Oh, I bet that's Harmony," he said as he reached for it.

Sasha sat up as well, watching him unlock his phone. "Harmony?" she echoed. "Why?"

"I asked her earlier if she still wanted to come over for the Whisper Challenge," he answered, "but I think she was recording, too."

"I thought it was just the guys tonight," Sasha remarked.

"Well, usually it is, just because we usually do it with Matthias. But we play with four people. So Matt, Ryan and I chose Harmony." With that, he turned his attention to his phone.

Sasha leaned surreptitiously over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of the text he had received.

 **Yeah, I'll definitely be there.**

"Sweet," he mumbled as he stood and returned his phone to his pocket. "Tonight is gonna be awesome. Maybe you and Harmony can get to know each other a little bit this time!" He took her hand to help her stand. "Come on, let's get dinner started."

Sure enough, Matt was in the living room when they came downstairs. He had cleared the walkway behind the couch so that he could push it back further than where it usually sat, making more room for a black bench to be scooted in front of it. Matt had the tripod set up as well at the front of the room and was currently working on adjusting the camera's settings for the proper lighting and sound.

"Harmony will be here in about an hour," Matt announced without looking up from the camera as they passed him.

Mark's step faltered and he paused to glance back at his friend, looking slightly puzzled.

"I texted her earlier because I wasn't sure if you were going to," Matt explained matter-of-factly.

"Oh," was all Mark could think to say. It wasn't an issue that Matt had texted her. Really, it wasn't. But for some reason it still didn't sit well with him, especially if Matt thought he wasn't going to contact her in the first place. Why wouldn't he?

"What's wrong, baby?" Sasha's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing!" He gave her an abrupt smile and squeezed her hand before continuing to lead her to the kitchen.

* * *

She was nervous. Oh man, was she nervous. She checked her appearance in the mirror for what had to be the millionth time that evening. She had chosen dark jeans, tan ankle boots and a nice burgundy top to complement the turquoise in her hair, but she couldn't stop fussing over it. She preferred to stick with solid colors whenever she was recording for YouTube, so that was something she wouldn't budge on because she just thought it looked better on camera, but she still felt like she needed to look extra nice. Why, she wasn't sure. But this was her first time seeing Mark since she found out about Sasha three days ago. She missed him horribly, but with the help of Leah, the time away from him was probably best for her. She had time to calm down and reassess her situation. She had time to accept the fact that Mark had a girlfriend that was not her, and had time to contemplate how she was going to handle things from here on out. Though it still hurt a great deal when she thought about it, now she felt like she could see things clearly and think logically and maturely. She had cried herself out and then picked herself up, keeping her head held high, reminding herself that not all was lost. Mark was still her best friend, and maybe there was still a chance down the road for his heart to change like she had hoped. All she had to do was be there with him whenever she could. That was the main reason why she still agreed to record with the guys tonight. She saw both Mark's and Matt's texts asking her to come over after she had finished her own recording session, and her first instinct was to panic. Was she ready to see him? What if Sasha was there? Could she handle seeing them together? Would they hang all over each other? Would Sasha even like her? But none of that really mattered. Mark was still her best friend. That was what mattered. She counted that as a blessing out of all of this and needed to take advantage of that when she could.

And besides, she had never been a part of one of their group challenges before, and she was honestly excited to try it out for herself.

But that didn't mean she wasn't nervous.

 _Should I dress nicer?_ she thought to herself, chewing on her bottom lip as she sized up her reflection. _What would Mark like? What if Sasha is super dressed up? Wait. The guys always do these things in just jeans and random teeshirts... so no, that would be weird. Wait, so does that mean I'm too dressy? Should I change into flipflops and a polo? Ugh! I never cared until now!_ Aggravated, she turned to face her closet once again, but this time her eye caught the glowing numbers on her alarm clock and almost gasped. She literally had three minutes before she was supposed to be there and she hated being late. "Screw it!" she shouted, throwing her hands up into the air as she dashed back into her closet _. I would rather match the guys than worry about stupid Sasha._

She reemerged this time wearing a white polo with a blue cami underneath and blue flipflops to match. She ignored the mirror on her way out - there was no time now. She just had to hope she looked good.

* * *

 _ **A/N: I love you guys! Thanks again for the follows, faves and reviews! If you're on Wattpad check out this story there as well! I'm entering it into the Watty's 2016 just for fun. ^.^ Please support me if you're enjoying this story!**_


	12. Twelve: The Game of Alliances

The walk to Mark's apartment seemed way shorter than it ever had before. Harmony's heart was hammering against her chest when she reached his front door. Her palms felt sweaty. Ew. Stupid. She wiped them on her jeans, cringing as she did so, and took a deep breath before she unlocked the door and let herself inside. She was instantly greeted by the unmistakable sound of her favorite rowdy boys, some random dubstep music and the distinct scent of Mexican food. She caught sight of Ryan in the living room first and saw that he was wearing a green teeshirt and black shorts and thanked the Lord she had decided to change clothes into something more casual. Her anxiety faded a little when he saw her and broke out into a wide smile.

"Hey!" he called to her with a wave.

Matt, who had been talking with Ryan, turned around and followed him over towards her. "Hey, Harmony! Long time no see!"

Harmony didn't have a chance to respond before she was enveloped in one of Ryan's bear hugs. She giggled as Matt cut in to give her a hug as well. She hadn't realized until now that it had actually been a while since she had really hung out with the two of them. "Hi, guys!" she exclaimed in return.

She noticed that they didn't call her Girliplier.

"Want some enchiladas?" Ryan offered as he and Matt stepped away to give Harmony some breathing room. "We're just finishing up eating right now. There's a ton of food still."

"I think I'm okay for now," she replied, "thanks." Nerves always tended to curb her appetite a little. Food was the last thing on her mind right now, although the smell was delicious.

"Nope," Matt countered, "not convinced. Come on, Harpie! Get some food!" He slung his arm around her shoulders to guide her to the kitchen.

Wow. Harpie. She hadn't heard her YouTube name from Matt or Ryan since they came up with Girliplier.

No, she had to let that go for now. Instead she just smiled and allowed Matt to bring her to the kitchen. As they walked through the living room, however, Mark appeared, beaming. "Hey you," came his wonderful, deep voice.

Harmony couldn't help but grin from ear to ear, trying not to blush as Matt led her right into his open arms. Her eyes fluttered shut as she hugged him close to her. For just a moment, this was all she thought about. And even though it was only for a moment, she loved and cherished that one moment dearly. She would take every one she could get.

"How are you feeling?" His lips were close to her ear.

"I'm better," she murmured, subtly nuzzling closer to him.

It was then when she realized that Matt was still lingering close to them, as if waiting to continue bringing her into the kitchen for dinner. But when she started to glance over at him from her place in Mark's arms, he started to lean down towards her other ear and whispered two words so quietly - too low for Mark to hear - that she couldn't believe she heard them over the thumping bass of the music. It was like it happened in slow motion.

"Team Girliplier."

Her eyes widened as their gazes met. He only grinned and squeezed her arm before he walked back into the living room to join Ryan.

Her heart picked up speed.

And it was then when she looked over Mark's shoulder just as he started to pull away only to lay eyes on a certain black-haired woman standing in the middle of the kitchen with her arms crossed, her hazel eyes piercing Harmony fiercely as she stared, silent and still like a statue.

Or maybe a gargoyle.

That wasn't nice.

She didn't care.

"Hungry?" Mark asked Harmony. "Come on in, we have plenty of enchiladas. Sasha and I made them!" He stepped back to wrap an arm around his girlfriend. She smiled at him as he looked at her tenderly, but when she turned back to Harmony again the blonde couldn't help but notice that smile grew a little forced.

Harmony found some satisfaction in the frigidity of her expression as she reached out to shake Sasha's hand. "Good to see you again," she said.

"You too," Sasha returned plainly.

This was going to be... interesting.

Mark fixed a plate of food for her and was placing it in her hands before she could even tell him she didn't want a lot. She ended up joining everyone else in the living room and they all sat around chatting over the sound of the music while she ate. Sasha remained glued to Mark's side the entire time, and remained silent for the most part since most of their conversations were about YouTube and various videos and crazy stories about things they got into. She didn't have much to contribute. She made Harmony want to roll her eyes.

She was too antsy to completely finish her plate, but Ryan lifted it out of her hands without a second thought when she mentioned she was really full. As if on cue, Matt jumped up to turn off the music and double check the settings and position of the camera. Mark stood to guide Sasha to a chair that had been left on the other side of the room, behind the camera.

"We ready to do this?" Ryan bellowed when he came back into the room, cell phone in his hand and headphones around his neck.

Matt was already pulling his earbuds out of his pocket and Harmony did the same. Mark picked up his headphones from where he left them on the table as the others took their seats on the bench and the couch behind it. Harmony was heading to sit on the couch but Mark stopped her with a hand on her arm.

"Sit with me," he said, motioning towards the other side of the bench.

"You want me to go first with you?" she asked as Matt sat down in the couch behind them.

"Yeah!" Mark replied. "Why not? You know how to play, right?"

Harmony grinned. "Of course I do." She was pretty sure that by now she had seen more of his videos than she could possibly count. Of course she knew how all of their challenges went.

"Ready when you guys are," Ryan announced from where he stood behind the camera.

Harmony saw Mark blow a kiss to Sasha sitting across the room and immediately wished she hadn't as she felt a pang in her chest, but there was no time for that right now. She blocked it out of her mind for now and took another deep breath, busying herself instead with opening her iPod on her phone and connecting her earbuds to it as Mark gave Ryan the go-ahead to start recording.

Time to focus.

* * *

 ** _A/N: Sorry I vanished for a bit! But I'm back now! I'm a lot more active over on Wattpad so be sure to follow me there as well! Thanks again for the reviews, you guys make me feel so special! I'm so happy you guys are enjoying this story! What's going to happen next?!_**


	13. Thirteen: The Game of Pretending

What seemed like only a second later, Ryan was sitting down beside Matt and Mark was greeting the soon-to-be viewers of this video, introducing himself as well as Matt, Ryan and Harmony. As he gave a crash course on the Whisper Challenge for the benefit of the viewers, Harmony tried her best to focus all of her attention between the camera and Mark as he spoke. But in the back of her mind she couldn't forget that Sasha was sitting there, watching silently with her hands folded in her lap. She reminded Harmony of a snooty school teacher sweeping her eyes over her students as they took a quiz, just waiting to catch one of them talking or cheating. But fortunately, when the time came for everyone to put their headphones on and start blasting music, she found it harder to pay attention to Sasha. For that she was grateful.

And then the time came for the first round to start. Mark and Harmony faced each other as Mark read off the first tweet of the game from Twitter and she concentrated on reading his lips to try and understand what he was saying.

Those lips that she wanted to kiss.

Harmony felt her cheeks heating up and she couldn't help but start giggling. Mark started laughing, too. He probably thought she was laughing at whatever she thought he was saying. _Sure, we'll go with that._ She asked him to repeat just in case.

There was honestly no time to think about Sasha now as the first round progressed. Harmony was having the time of her life as they moved in a circle like musical chairs until the tweet (or what was left of the tweet) made it to Ryan, who was last, who didn't end up with a single original word as he announced what he thought he heard to everyone.

Harmony was already laughing so much she could feel it in her abs. It felt good. And it was much needed. She stole a secret glance at Sasha to find her in the same position, unmoving, her dark eyes trailing her boyfriend.

How could anyone not laugh at this stuff? This was gold!

Whatever. Harmony couldn't dwell on that. It was Ryan's turn to read the next tweet to Mark. This was way more exciting than her best friend's brooding girlfriend.

The second round was even better than the first, mostly thanks to Mark who pretty much butchered the tweet right off the bat. In between the second and third rounds, Harmony took a minute to filter through her iPod. She didn't realize how long it had been since she added to her library.

"Man, I need new music," she commented to no one in particular as she searched through artists to find something different with a catchy enough beat.

"Here," came Mark's voice.

Harmony looked up to see Mark turned in his seat to face her, holding out his headphones with that gorgeous half-smile of his. She didn't move as he carefully placed his headphones perfectly on her ears. She was instantly surrounded by some upbeat pop music and a female singer. She raised an eyebrow up high as the song drew out a grin from her.

"You're listening to Lady Gaga?" she quickly deduced.

She saw him laugh and nod, although she couldn't hear any of it over his music. Then he just handed her his phone. She took it automatically, feeling slightly shocked as he slowly wrapped his fingers around her phone in exchange, as if giving her plenty of time to object if she wanted to. But she didn't. She only watched as he popped in her earbuds and pressed play on her iPod, excitedly bobbing his head as soon as the music started. He laughed again at her bemused expression and gave her an enthusiastic thumbs up. She chuckled at her best friend's antics and dearly hoped she wasn't blushing. She just so happened to choose this moment to let Sasha slide into her peripheral vision, and what she was met with was her icy stare, set jaw and thin line of a mouth.

Harmony felt her stomach drop. Okay. Distraction time. She honed in every ounce of her attention on Matt as he got ready to read his tweet of choice to Ryan. _Yes, enjoy the game. Worry about other things later. Camera is rolling. Worry later about how I'd_ _be dead right now if looks could kill... even though I didn't do anything._ She forced herself to jam to Mark's music instead, consciously keeping her eyes clear of the only other woman in the room.

Fortunately, it wasn't hard for her to get caught up in the game again once the next round started, especially once it was her turn. She was last this time and had to announce what she thought she heard to the three guys... and she couldn't have been more off from the original tweet, which caused a whole chorus of laughter from all four of them.

When the last round came, it was time for Harmony to choose a tweet to read to Ryan. She pulled the headphones down to sit around her neck and looked down at the phone in her hand - she had forgotten that she still had Mark's phone. For a moment, she felt like she had no idea what to do. While it was true that Mark and Harmony had been extremely close for a while now, using each other's phones was something that they very rarely did. A phone was a personal item, and as close as they were, they respected each other's privacy, especially when it came to their phones. She hesitantly glanced back at Mark, who was currently sitting behind her, to see that he was already looking at her. She tipped his phone towards him, silently asking if he wanted it back, but he only shook his head as he smiled, motioning for her to go on.

Really?

Well then.

This may not have been the biggest deal in the world, but regardless, she was really taken aback. She felt... privileged.

Well, here goes.

She tapped the home button of his phone to get out of his iPod. Looking at someone else's home screen was always so disorienting when one was so accustomed to their own layout of apps. But lucky for her, she found his Twitter without a hitch and opened it up to find the search for their Whisper Challenge hashtag already displayed.

It felt so personal looking in someone else's Twitter account.

"Ready?" Ryan snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Oh yes!" she exclaimed. "I'm ready!"

The last round was one of her favorites, as she kept the headphones off of her ears in order to hear each of them. It all went by so quickly, and before she knew it, Mark was wrapping the video up and they were waving goodbye before Ryan jumped up to shut off the camera.

"That was such a good one!" Matt remarked as he started wrapping up his earbuds.

It was like Sasha came back to life as she jumped up from her chair and sailed towards her boyfriend, deliberately brushing past Harmony as she did so.

"Hi," Mark greeted her with a smile, reaching for her hand from where he sat once she was close enough. "What did you think? Did you like it?"

"You guys are giant goofballs," Sasha replied with a chuckle. "You make me laugh."

"Good." He tugged lightly on her hand and she bent down to kiss him.

Harmony turned away from them and rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the twinge she felt. But it wasn't until afterwards when she realized Matt was looking right at her and had surely seen her reaction to Mark and Sasha. She blushed and looked at him apologetically, but he was actually nodding to her in agreement. She raised an eyebrow. He double-checked to make sure the couple was otherwise occupied before he nodded at Sasha and made a quick thumbs down. Harmony nodded in reply.

So Mark's friends didn't like Sasha, either?

"So should we do another video?" Ryan suddenly questioned. All eyes snapped over to him at once.

"Yeah!" Harmony cried as Matt gave a shrug and a nod.

"I'm down for another one," Mark put in.

Sasha whirled around to him. "Aww baby," she said, borderline whining in Harmony's opinion, "I thought you were done after this. I wanna watch a movie."

"We usually do at least two videos in one sitting, though," Mark replied. "Don't worry. It won't take too long and I'll be done after that. Promise."

Sasha heaved a long sigh and headed back to her chair. Harmony could have sworn she saw her glare at her from the corner of her eye.

"What should we do next?" Matt asked. "7 Seconds? We could try Finish My Sentence. Or make something up."

"What do you wanna try, Harmony?" Mark asked the blonde.

"Me?" Harmony squeaked.

"Yeah, let's let the challenge newbie pick!" Ryan encouraged.

"Okay, okay!" Harmony laughed. She took a moment to consider her options. "Okay, I've always wanted to try Finish My Sentence. I like that one!"

"Okay, it's about to go down!" Ryan shouted as he checked the camera a final time. "Everyone ready?"

"Wait."

All four YouTubers spun around to Sasha as she stood up once again from her chair.

"How about I play?" she suggested. "Can't be that hard to learn to play. Harmony and I can switch."

Sudden tension filled the room as it seemed like everyone just looked at each other.

Mark awkwardly cleared his throat in attempt to diffuse the thick silence. "Um... Why don't we figure that out later, Sasha?" he offered. "This is Harmony's first time doing this with us, too. Why don't we finish up with her and talk about videos with you later tonight?"

He didn't notice the deadpan expressions on his two roommates' faces.

"Oh," Sasha chirped, her beady eyes locking with Harmony's. "Okay... I guess that's fair."

The tension returned as Sasha slowly eased herself back into her seat, holding Harmony's gaze until Ryan spoke up again.

"So... Okay," he stammered. "Uh... We ready to start?"

The second challenge went by quickly and smoothly. Harmony was glad she had another opportunity to take her mind off of the daggers that seemed to be aimed directly at her from the stare of the other woman sitting in the corner. She focused once again on the game itself and the guys around her, and soon she was cracking up laughing with them all over again, much to the apparent dismay of Sasha. Most of the sentences they formed - if they could even be called sentences - were barely held together and most made almost no sense, but all of that only added to the quality of the game and the video they were making. At one point, they were all laughing so hard that tears were running down Harmony's face and Mark had doubled over in his fits of giggles, his hand somehow finding a place to grasp on her knee for support. Matt and Ryan high-fived each other in celebration of what they said was the best worst sentence ever created. And deciding that they would not be able to top that today, Mark ended the video while they were all still trying to recover from their bout of hilarity.

"I'm so glad we decided to do that second challenge," Matt remarked, giving everyone a double thumbs up. "I can't wait 'til these videos go up."

"Thank you for letting me do these with you guys," Harmony said, still chuckling. "That was the most fun I've had in days."

"Dude, you have to do more challenges with us sometime," Ryan told her. "You are absolutely amazing at these."

Mark had gotten up from his seat beside Harmony, heading over to where his girlfriend had been sitting quietly and motionlessly. "Hey," he murmured to her as he reached out with both of his hands to take both of hers. He gently pulled her up to stand and her arms went up to hang casually around his neck. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Sasha sighed, "I just wish I could have done those with you."

Mark took in a deep breath. "I know," he said slowly, "but honestly, we usually only do these challenges with other YouTubers... or people like that."

"But you couldn't make an exception for me?"

He pursed his lips together. Apparently, they were going to have this conversation now instead of later like he had planned. He glanced back at the others to find Matt, Ryan and Harmony chatting happily amongst themselves. Good. "You see," he began, turning back to his girlfriend, "I really like keeping my personal life private. I love my fans dearly, but I like having my personal life stay personal. So I don't usually make videos with my family or my girlfriend. I like having the differentiation. It means a lot to me." He regarded her carefully. "You understand, right?"

Sasha sighed, eyeing Harmony from over Mark's shoulder as the blonde laughed at something one of the guys had said. "I guess," she answered. "I just wanted to be in a video like Harmony was."

"Harmony?" Mark echoed. "We collaborate with her because she's also on YouTube. Just like we collaborate with Matthias and JackSepticEye."

"But she's also your best friend," her hazel eyes lifted to meet his, "whom you seem to be extremely friendly with, by the way."

"What?" Mark frowned. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"You guys can't seem to keep your hands off each other. How do you think that makes me feel? I'm your girlfriend, Mark."

Mark took an uncomfortable step back and glanced over at Harmony again, scratching the back of his neck. Matt, Ryan and Harmony had moved back to sit on the couch and it looked like his best friend was currently in the middle of telling them a very animated story. "I'm sorry, Sasha," he said, "I guess I didn't really think about it like that. We've always been like that with each other. It doesn't mean anything. We're just really close. I told you that."

"Yeah, like brother and sister," she recalled, "but even then, that's a little much, don't you think?"

Mark's gaze had dropped to the floor and he was quiet for a while like he was mulling something over. But then he sighed, as if he came to a conclusion that he didn't really like, and looked back up to her with sincerity in his eyes. "I'm sorry," he said again, "I'll work on pulling it back a little for you."

Sasha smiled and wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you," she replied, reaching up to give him a kiss. "I appreciate that." She caught sight of Harmony standing from the couch to head towards the kitchen. "I'm going to go get a drink of water," Sasha suddenly announced as she pulled away from her boyfriend. "I'll be right back."

"Okay." He gave her hand a squeeze before he turned and joined the guys on the couch, leaving Sasha to follow Harmony into the kitchen.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Holy crap, guys! I'M BACK ON ! I moved and didn't have my computer for a long time so that made it really hard to update here lol. But anyway, here is more! I will probably be posting several chapters over the next few days to try and catch up to where I am on Wattpad. Love you guys!**_


	14. Fourteen: The Game of Forbearance

Harmony had just picked out a glass from one of the cabinets and was heading towards the fridge for ice and water when Sasha joined her in the kitchen. She opened the cabinet Harmony had just been in and grabbed a glass for herself. "So you and Mark are pretty close," she abruptly broke the silence between them, startling Harmony as she nearly dropped her glass.

Harmony spun around on her heel to face Sasha, her glass only full of ice so far. "Oh, yeah," she answered with a quick smile and a shrug. "We've known each other for a few years now."

"Best friends, right?"

Harmony nodded.

Sasha seemed to glide as she went over to the fridge around Harmony and started filling her glass with water. "You don't think you guys act a little differently than most best friends do?" she inquired without looking up at the blonde.

Harmony felt her mouth moving, but at first no words came out. "Uh... we, uh," she stammered, trying to recover from being caught so off guard. "We're just... really open people, that's all. It's always been like that."

"I see." Sasha pulled the glass away from the dispenser once it was full and brought it up to her lips to take a long sip, leaving Harmony in awkward silence. She drank almost the whole glass before setting it down on the counter and took one stride closer to the other woman. "Mark isn't single anymore," she almost seemed to sneer as she kept her voice low enough for only Harmony to hear. "It would be considerate to keep that in mind when you're around him." She walked out of the kitchen without another word, leaving Harmony stunned and appalled, her chest tight and her hand grasping her glass just a little too tightly. She could only watch as Sasha returned to her place at Mark's side, squeezing in on the couch between him and Matt, smiling smugly as she snaked an arm around him.

She felt a brief buzzing in her pocket that seemed to snap her out of her immobility and she fished her phone out with a huff of irritation, leaving her unused glass forgotten in the sink. She furrowed her brow in puzzlement as she read the name of the sender. She didn't have anyone named Bob in her phone... did she?

 **So I don't mean to sound like a chick or anything, but Wade just told me that Matt mentioned that you have a girlfriend now and it isn't Harpie. What the hell's up with that and why didn't you tell us when you were here?**

Oh no.

Harmony nearly dropped the phone as her face surely lost some of its color, unable to tear her eyes away from the screen.

This wasn't her phone. She still had Mark's phone. She had left his headphones on the table and must have slipped his phone into her pocket out of habit, thinking it was hers since they both had iPhones. That meant Mark still had hers.

She was most definitely not supposed to see that text.

Her heart was racing as she hurriedly locked the phone and tore her eyes away, glancing up as if to check if she had been caught. But Matt, Ryan, Mark and Sasha were all still on the couch, engrossed in some conversation she hadn't been listening to. However, Matt was getting up, making his way over to the camera to start taking things apart to put it away.

She didn't know what to do. She was feeling slightly overwhelmed.

Maybe it was time to go home for the night. She had seen more than enough of Sasha's face for one night anyway.

She took in a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself, trying to make sure she acted casual as she strolled back into the living room. Sasha had been in the middle of saying something, but all three of the guys looked up at Harmony as soon as she came in. Sasha trailed off mid-sentence when she lost their attention and looked up to see what had happened, but when she saw Harmony standing there her gaze hardened and her lips were a fine line once again.

"What's up?" Ryan wanted to know.

"I'm gonna head home," Harmony forced herself to say. Honestly, she didn't want to. She wanted to stay here with Mark. She wanted to stay here as late as she could like she used to, but she didn't think she could really do that anymore. Sasha had made that very clear. She had taken that away from her. "I've gotta start writing my next article in the morning."

Matt and Ryan both made vague sounds of disappointment at her departure, but they both asked for hugs from her and told her goodnight and to come over again soon. _Yeah, if Sasha will even let me_ , she thought to herself.

Mark jumped up from the couch - and from Sasha's arms. "Let me walk you to the door," he said.

"Baby..." Sasha pouted.

"I won't be long," he turned around to reassure her with a smile. "I promise."

She eyed him meaningfully.

"I'll be right back," he told her before stepping away to lead Harmony to the door.

Harmony felt like the cordial thing to do would be to say goodnight to Sasha. That would be respectful and proper. But instead she only met Sasha's scowl with a cold glare of her own before she turned her back on her and followed Mark out. Mark had opened the door for her by the time she reached it and she thanked him quietly as she stepped out into the hallway. She turned back to say goodnight to him, but much to her surprise she found him stepping outside of the apartment with her, shutting the door behind him and even making sure it was closed firmly. Their door wasn't exactly aligned perfectly and it often drifted back open if someone didn't give it that extra push to close it securely. She smiled up at him when he faced her again and opened her mouth to tell him she still had his phone, but before she could get a word out his arms were around her so tightly she could barely move her own arms to embrace him in return. His head came to rest against hers and she felt him take in a slow, deep breath. She stood there in shock, speechless, but she let him hold on to her as long as he wanted. She cherished this moment, suddenly feeling like it was taboo when she thought about Sasha's warning.

She committed this feeling to memory... just in case. She didn't know why. She just felt like she needed to... just in case.

It felt like ages passed while at the same time it felt like only seconds passed before he finally pulled away from her so delicately, as if he might break her if he moved too fast. His hands once again found what seemed to be their new favorite place at her waist and when he looked at her he smiled at her tenderly, but there was something else behind his smile that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Sadness?

She cocked her head to the side, but smiled back at him anyway. "What was that for?" she asked lightly.

He shrugged, but his wistful smile didn't falter. "Just because you're you," he murmured. "Thank you for recording those challenges with us tonight."

"Thank you for inviting me to them. They were amazing."

"You're amazing."

Harmony lost her train of thought for a moment and bowed her head as her smile grew bashful instead. She knew she was blushing.

"Hey," he coaxed her to look up at him again. "You still wanna record a game together? We should get that going later this week if you have time."

"I would love to," she answered honestly. "I'll definitely have time. Just tell me what game and when and I'll be on Skype waiting."

Mark nodded. "We can decide on the game later. And hey," he grinned, "you're gonna hit 3 million subscribers soon. Got any plans?"

"I have a few ideas," she replied. "You wanna help out?"

"Definitely." But she caught his smile faltering just barely as his eyes darted back towards his front door for just a second. "Well, if I can. I really want to if I can."

"Okay," Harmony nodded seriously, detecting the solemnity in his words. He was talking about Sasha. She could tell. But then she remembered something she almost forgot a second time. "Oh," she muttered as she held up his phone. "I'm sorry, I totally forgot I've had this almost all night."

Mark chuckled as he stepped away from her just enough to pull her phone out of his pocket along with her earbuds. "Yeah, I kept meaning to give yours back to you."

She smiled as they traded belongings. "Thanks for lending me your music." Out of habit, she tapped her home button to check if she had missed any calls or texts, only to find that he had oh-so-smoothly replaced the wallpaper of her lock screen with an absolutely ridiculous selfie he must have taken at some point tonight when she was preoccupied; one of his huge, dopey grins was smiling up at her just underneath her phone's time and date. Abruptly, she burst into a brief fit of giggles, which only grew worse when she looked up and saw that same dopey grin on his face as he watched her.

"I thought your wallpaper was lacking," he remarked.

"Lacking what?" she laughed.

"Me!"

She shook her head, still giggling as she slipped her phone into her pocket. "Well, thanks for that, I guess."

Their laughter together died down after a while, leaving them in the silence of the hallway as they both lingered, the both of them stalling her departure back to her own apartment. But she saw his eyes dart back towards his door a second time and that wistful expression crept into the hints of his features again. "Well, I gotta get back... to Sasha," he said, the mirth gone from his voice.

"Yeah... I know." She smiled at him again, hoping this one didn't look as forced as it felt. "Well... thanks again for a lot of fun. Have a good night, Markimoo."

"Goodnight, friend."

She gave him a little wave and turned to make her way down the hall, but she had only made it a few steps before she heard his voice again.

"Harmony, wait."

Harmony stopped mid-step and whirled around, eyebrows raised in curiosity. He was still standing there, leaning slightly against the door frame with his hands in his pockets, gazing at her with that same look that she couldn't quite place. Melancholy?

"Can I have one more?" he asked, pushing himself from the door frame.

She gave him a bemused smile. "One more what?"

He didn't answer her. Instead he was walking towards her and he pulled his hands out of his pockets just in time to embrace her once again. She gasped in surprise at the force behind it, bewildered and slightly alarmed as she slipped her arms around his neck where they always did seem to fit perfectly. He was silent and so she remained quiet, too, her wide eyes gradually drifting closed as he held her... almost as if she were his.

That ache in her heart returned and mixed with the unease towards the way he was acting. She tightened her grasp on him.

"Mark, what's wrong?" she finally whispered.

He took in a sharp breath, but silence stretched for a while before he finally lifted his head from where it rested gently against hers. He almost looked misty-eyed when he looked at her again, ever-so-lightly cupping her face with one hand. Concern filled her eyes as she lifted a hand to place it on top of his. "What's wrong?" she murmured again.

But Mark only shook his head, smiling once again as he pulled his hand away. "Nothing," he told her confidently. "I just wanted one more good hug."

Harmony smiled hesitantly. "But you'll see me again, you doof. I'm leaving for the night, not leaving forever."

He gave a low chuckle. "Yeah," he whispered. But then he sighed again as he took a step back to his apartment. "Well, I really gotta go back. Sasha's probably getting suspicious."

That woman's words came rushing back to her once again, and this time her stomach dropped. Was this the last time he was ever going to hold her like that again?

Oh, her heart hurt.

She hadn't realized she had reached out and grabbed onto the sleeve of his American Eagle hoodie. He froze in his tracks as she grasped the cream-colored material, her eyes frozen for a moment on her fingers that clutched it. Slowly, she gazed up at him and their brown eyes locked. He was staring at her so intensely she almost felt like she shouldn't dare breathe or move. He looked as if he had a million things to say to her, like he was torn between two things and he didn't know which one to choose. So many emotions passed over his face and she wished so badly that she could just _say_ the words that were burning in her throat. But instead they just let silence pass between them before she put another smile on her face to cover up everything else.

"Goodnight, Mark," was all she said.

He smiled in return. "Goodnight, Harmony."

She let his sleeve slip from her fingers and she finally turned to head down the hallway again, holding his gaze for just a moment over her shoulder as he just stood there and watched her disappear around the corner. Tears flowed freely down her face and the ache in her heart felt so heavy as she let herself into her apartment, gently closing and locking the door behind her.

"I love you, Mark," she whispered into the empty air around her.

* * *

 _ **A/N: I love you guys so much. Your comments just warm my heart and encourage me to keep writing! Thank you for the follows and reviews! You all make my day!**_


	15. Fifteen: The Game of Surprises

Harmony sat down heavily in her desk chair, absentmindedly double-clicking on her internet browser to open up YouTube. Tonight she had specifically set aside at least an hour or two to sift through the comments of a video she had posted yesterday. For her upcoming milestone of reaching 3 million subscribers, she had actually decided to let her fans pick what she should do to celebrate by leaving suggestions in the comment section (partly because she just hadn't been feeling creative lately). Tonight, she was going to make an attempt to tackle said comment section and see if there was anything she could consider. She knew this was going to be quite a task, but she was okay with that. She was ready. It would help her a little to keep her mind off of her best friend.

She hadn't seen Mark in almost two weeks. He had no time to come let himself into her apartment, and the two times she took a chance and helped herself into his, he was gone to Sasha's condo and she ended up hanging out with Ryan and Matt instead. Ryan and Matt were absolutely fantastic guys and she loved them like brothers - she even helped them develop a skit for their own YouTube channel that they offered her to play a part in - but she really missed Mark. It wasn't the same there without him.

It wasn't the same anywhere without him. And she hated it.

Fortunately, they still texted each other, though a bit more sporadically than they used to. She was starting to get a feel for whether he was with Sasha or not by the way he sent his texts and how long it took him to reply. When he was alone he would practically blow her phone up unless he was recording, but when he was with Sasha his responses were much shorter and sometimes he took ages to answer, or sometimes he didn't answer at all. And now that she had been seeing him so rarely lately, their text conversations had become her lifeline to him. She knew she depended on them more than she should, but she couldn't help it.

She missed her best friend, who just happened to also be the man she was so frustratingly in love with.

She felt his absence so deeply in her heart that it hurt. It had been a dull and steady ache that she had been carrying with her since the last time she saw him. The way he had hugged her and held on to her like he didn't know if he would ever see her again, the hints of despair in his touch and the teary look in his eyes were all weighing so heavily on her. Maybe she should have asked him about it. Maybe she should have told him what Sasha had said to her. But she didn't. Why? Because she had been afraid. She was afraid of what he would say. She was afraid that he would tell her what she didn't want to hear.

She sighed softly as she navigated through her Video Manager tab to find the vlog she needed. She felt so lackluster as she accessed it, stopping the video's playback before the sound of her own voice could emanate from her speakers. She was almost positive she was going to hit 3 million by tomorrow night, if not sooner. She knew she was supposed to feel excited. There was surely no doubt she was humbled and absolutely amazed that her channel was growing so quickly. She never dreamed she would ever be able to get this far. And she really loved her fans so, so much. They always made her so incredibly happy and they made her feel special.

So why didn't she feel happy right now?

She propped her elbow up on the desk and nestled her chin into the palm of her hand as she scrolled through the sea of comments. Sure enough, the suggestions were all over the place.

 _Go skydiving. Conquer a fear. Dye your hair again. Go cliff jumping. Do a video with PewDiePie. Shave your head. Scuba dive. Pet a tiger._

Wow.

 _Go on a date with me_ , another comment read and it drew a chuckle out of her. It had a lot of likes, too.

"They sure are creative," she mumbled to herself.

She loved her fans so much.

She scrolled a little more, her interest piqued, until another one caught her eye that made her stop to the point where she yanked her hand off of her mouse.

 _Harpie, let's see you kiss Markiplier!_

Even in the solitude of her own home, she blushed madly.

It shouldn't have been such a surprise to her, though. Both her fans as well as Mark's fans knew they were very close. Ever since their first video they collaborated on, there had been talk here and there about how they should date or how they would make a cute couple, especially when photos of them together started circulating since they had been practically joined at the hip. But she had never really thought anything of it. It was harmless and she and Mark knew where they stood with each other and that was what counted.

But now everything was changed. Now she wasn't really sure where she stood with him. Now she was no different from all those fans wishing for her to get together with him.

As she stared blankly at the letters that made up that comment on her screen, irritation started to bubble up a little bit within her. Why was it that it seemed like everyone else in the world wanted them to be together? Had it always been like this and she had simply never noticed? It was like the universe was trying to push them together, but in reality it was only pushing her up against a brick wall, because Mark wasn't interested in her that way. He didn't think of her like that. When he thought of lips to kiss, hands to hold and a life to share his with, he didn't think of her. He thought of Sasha instead.

And because of that, Harmony really wanted everyone else to just stop.

Please.

She let her chin slip out of her hand to bury her face in her arms on the desk. And as risky as it was, she just let her mind drift.

She pretended, just for a moment, that Mark had never met Sasha. He would probably be here right now, she mused. It was 9:00 on a Friday night. Mark would have probably made dinner a few hours ago because he always insisted on cooking whenever he was here. They would have probably started up some games afterwards and Mark would always try to pick the ones he knew he could kick her butt in, but she'd fight for her favorites so that he could get a taste of his own medicine when she beat him instead. Then she'd drag herself away from the games to come in here and decide how she was going to celebrate her upcoming milestone. He would follow her in here, of course, and he'd sit close beside her in the other chair she always kept in here specifically for him. They'd brainstorm for a while before they'd eventually come up with some off-the-wall idea that couldn't have possibly been conjured up from anywhere else except for Mark's brain. She'd laugh and shoot it down, but he would insist she do it and start poking her in her sides, which tickled - and she hated being tickled - so she'd run away in defense, but that would just result in them chasing each other around the apartment because really they were just big kids at heart. They'd eventually collapse side-by-side on her bed, their chests heaving as they caught their breath. Then he'd slide his arm over to her and pull her closer to him until he could curl it around her.

What a perfect Friday night that would have been.

It was crazy to think about how just a month ago, something like that would have been just another day in the life of Mark and Harmony. But now... all she had left of that now were just memories and dreams.

Her head jerked up at the sound of a bubbly, slightly silly melody coming from her computer speakers. She hastily wiped at her watering eyes, belatedly realizing that tears had started to pool. She gathered herself as she clicked over to Skype to see who was calling her.

 _Markiplier calling..._

Her heart started beating faster as she read the notification over and over as if to be sure she read it right. Quickly, she sat up straighter in her chair and wiped under her eyes again, running a quick hand through her blonde curls to try and make sure she looked presentable. Nervousness was welling up within her, but she took a deep breath and clicked the button to accept the call. He popped up on her screen immediately, headphones on and everything as if he had just been recording. He was already smiling at her.

"Hey," she greeted him with a smile in return.

"Hi, pretty lady!" he replied. "I was really hoping you'd be at your computer! What are you up to?"

Harmony gave a little shrug. "Nothing too terribly exciting," she replied. "What's up?" She glanced down at the clock in the corner of her screen and raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing at home on a Friday night anyway? I figured you'd be with... with Sasha." It was so hard to say her name without any touch of distaste.

But he didn't seem to pick up on that. "She went out with her friends tonight," he explained, "which left me with a night to myself for a change. So I caught up on some recording and then wanted to call you."

That encouraged a smile from Harmony. "Really?" she chirped.

"Yeah! I was thinking we could start a game together if you don't have anything going on." Guilt suddenly spread over his face. "I've just been so busy with Sasha and videos I haven't had a chance to get to it lately."

"That's okay," she reassured him, her nerves beginning to calm down. "I know you've had a lot going on. I'd love to start a game tonight."

A night to hang out with Mark without Sasha looming over them was something she wasn't sure would happen again... even if it wasn't in person. She would take what she could get if it meant spending time with him.

He smiled in a mixture of both excitement and relief at her response. "Awesome. I was thinking Castle Crashers." But then something offscreen seemed to catch his eye and he gasped. "Oh, I almost forgot! What are you doing in July?"

"July?" she echoed, unconsciously leaning closer to the monitor in her curiosity, suddenly dying to know why he wanted to know. "Nothing pops up in my mind, but that's still a few months away." She grinned as a cover while she fought to keep her nervousness from rising again. "Why? What's happening?"

The excitement on his face sure was contagious and her eyes were glued to him until that face disappeared behind a piece of paper he held up to the camera, holding still to be sure it would focus on the paper's contents. It looked to be an email that he had printed out. After only a moment, the image sharpened and she recognized the logo at the top immediately.

Her eyes widened and it was her turn to let out a gasp. "San Diego Comic Con?!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah! Wanna go? We're gonna host a panel there for the first time! You can help us with it! Bob and Wade will be there! And Matt and Ryan! Maybe Jack, too!"

It took several moments for Harmony to find her voice again and realize that she needed to close her gaping mouth. "You want me to help you guys with the panel?"

"Yeah!" Mark confirmed without hesitation. "Of course we want you there! And you can finally go to a convention with me! You promised, remember?"

Harmony laughed. "Yeah! I would love to, Mark! I'm honored!"

"It's gonna be amazing," Mark said, genuine smile on his face once again as he chuckled. "Don't forget to register!" Paper set aside, he sat up straighter in his chair and scooted a little closer. "Now, ready to dominate a game or two?"

"Sure!" she replied with a nod. "Let me just change clothes real quick."

"Nah, don't worry about it. You look amazing."

Harmony raised a brow as she glanced down at her choice of clothing for the day: jeans and a Spartan Army tee from Halo. Not her typical YouTube wardrobe. "Um... thanks?"

"You always look amazing, though," he continued, a bit quieter than before, almost as if to himself. But then a corner of his mouth pulled up into that half-smile she loved as he gazed at her. "Come on. I've been dying to play a game with you again."

Harmony grinned as she grabbed her headphones and slipped them on, taking just a few moments to access her recording software and double-click on the game's icon on her desktop. Maybe she would regret it later - maybe she wouldn't - but right now all she wanted to do was just forget about Sasha and everything else, and just be right here in this moment with this man.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Sooooo, I disappeared. I'm so sorry! But for those who are reading this, thank you so much for your patience and I'm gonna try my hardest to do better because my readers deserve it! I love you all so much!**_


	16. Sixteen: The Game of Stealth

They both began recording as the game kicked into its title screen and Mark rattled off his intro with his usual enthusiasm, welcoming Harmony to the video in the process. And with that, they jumped right into gameplay. Harmony had to admit she was a little nervous at first because it had been so long since she had played, but once she saw how much Mark was dying for the same reason, she found herself relaxing and instead laughing constantly at his crazy antics as he tried to re-familiarize himself with the game, mentioning that perhaps they should have done a practice run before they started the episode. But Harmony remarked that it added to the entertainment.

"Since when do you practice before you record anyway?" she quipped with a smirk. "That's not the Markiplier way!"

Three episodes later, they had finally gotten a pretty good handle on the game, and Harmony couldn't help but notice and take a little pride in how good of a team they made. It had been a long time since they had played co-op instead of PvP. She loved it. They needed to do this more often. She had been having such a great time over the past two hours that it was almost, _almost_ as if he was right there with her. She was grinning as she shifted her gaze from her first monitor to her second where she had moved the Skype window and found his eyes already on her and a soft smile on his lips.

"Not too bad, right?" he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

She laughed. "We dominate," she declared. "Wanna do another?"

His gaze abruptly dropped off-screen. "Yeah," he answered slowly and she saw him pick up his phone. "Hang on a second, though. Sasha was blowing up my phone during that whole last episode."

She sat back in her chair with a soft huff as she watched him go through his text messages, pouting to herself. She should have known Sasha would interrupt their night together one way or another.

Just then she realized he had lifted his head again and was looking incredibly apologetic. "Sorry, Harmony, I gotta call her real quick."

She wanted to object. Oh man did she want to object. But she didn't. She couldn't. She had no right to say something like that. So she only bit the words back and gave him a nod. He responded to her with an appreciative smile before he took off his headphones and lifted his phone up to his ear. He did not mute Skype, so she sat there and listened to his side of the conversation with his girlfriend, glancing back at the game on the other screen, wishing they were still playing. Somehow she was sure they were done for the night.

"Hey, Sashabear," she heard him say and she wanted so badly to roll her eyes. "What's going on? ...Yeah, sorry about that. I was just recording, that's all. Yeah, sorry. I figured you guys would still be out anyway. ...Uh huh..." He went on, mumbling words of acknowledgement as Sasha no doubt droned on about some story or whatever, and after a minute Harmony saw him balance his phone between his ear and his shoulder, freeing his hands so he could reach for his keyboard, his fingers tapping away at the keys. A few seconds later her ears perked up at the ding of Skype's messenger. She bolted upright in her chair to grab her mouse and click over to the text that appeared under her video feed.

 **Sorry. I was hoping for a faster phone call. Silly me, right?!**

Harmony glanced up at Mark, who was looking at her with those apologetic puppy-dog eyes again. Her hands shifted to her keyboard to reply.

 **She just wanted to talk? I figured it was urgent or something.**

He was typing his reply almost instantly.

 **No, not really. She doesn't like to go all day without talking outside of text messages so she always wants me to call her if we don't see each other. I thought she'd be out a lot later than this.**

Harmony's fingers flew across the keyboard again, asking another question, this time out of curiosity.

 **Did she think you weren't gonna call or something?**

Mark was typing away again, and all the while was remaining impressively present in his phone conversation with Sasha.

 **She sent me like 600 texts and wanted to know why I wasn't replying.**

Wow, Harmony thought to herself as she read Mark's message.

 **Does she not realize you can't talk and record?**

Mark had leaned back from his desk and it sounded like he was giving her a rundown of his day, but when his brown eyes darted over to the screen to read Harmony's reply she spotted a fleeting smirk pull at his lips. He sat up again to type.

 **LOL. It probably doesn't help that I record at random times of the day.**

Harmony grinned a bit at his explanation before she settled back in her chair, comfortably crossing her arms over her chest as she listened and waited, wondering if this night would have anything more to offer. However, as her eyes idly skimmed over their conversation in the messenger, a thought arrived in Harmony's mind as she considered his method of communicating with her while he was on the phone. She sat up again to type.

 **Does she know you're recording with me?**

She hit Send and watched him as he read her question. He paused for a minute, seemingly listening to Sasha for a bit before he typed a simple response.

 **No.**

Her eyes flew back up to him as her eyebrows inched up her forehead, but he wasn't looking at her. He was talking again, and it sounded like he was surreptitiously trying to end the conversation with his girlfriend.

 **Why?**

She had typed the question, but her finger hovered over the mouse, second guessing that Send button. Honestly, she didn't want to know why. Deep down, she liked the fact that Sasha didn't know they were hanging out, even if it was just over Skype. She felt like they had something right now, just for now, that was their own; something that _she_ hadn't yet trodden all over. She trusted Mark's judgement more than anyone else's, and if that was the way he wanted to handle it then the same thing would go for her, too. She deleted her question, trying not to smirk, and shifted in her seat to get into a more comfortable position.

"...Yeah, I'm probably just gonna head off to bed soon," he was saying.

Oh. Harmony frowned to herself and felt her shoulders droop a little. So they were really done after all then.

"Okay," he went on. "Yeah. Okay. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Goodnight, Sashabear."

As soon as the call ended he tossed his phone on the desk and pulled his headphones back on. "Hey you," his deep voice was finally directed at her again. "Still with me?"

Harmony gave a little smile as she sat up again, scooting closer to her desk to make sure the mic would pick her up. "Of course I am," she replied.

"I'm sorry that took so long," he apologized again.

"It's okay." She shrugged. "You gotta do what you gotta do." She saw a slow grin start spreading across his face and it coaxed another one from her as well; they were always contagious. "What?" she wanted to know.

"You wanna do a few more videos?"

"Wha-Really?" she stuttered in surprise. "I thought you were gonna go to bed."

Now it was his turn to shrug. "I think I can swing a few more before bed. The night is still young... ish."

"Let's do it!" she cried in excitement.

This man. Oh this man. She loved this man so much.

Even if he wasn't hers.

For four more videos they played together, completely losing track of time as they slowly worked through the first part of the game, swearing and laughing and hollering as they went. The only thing that could have made this any better was if he had been right beside her like he used to be. But at least for now she had him in front of her on her monitor. She would take what she could get.

She didn't even think to check the clock until she let loose a yawn, stretching her arms over her head. "Wow, I can't believe it's already 2am," she remarked, slightly disappointed. Her eyes had been heavy for the past hour but she was refusing to let sleep cut her time with her best friend any shorter than absolutely necessary.

"Sleepy?" he asked softly before stifling a yawn of his own.

Harmony stubbornly shook her head. "Nope," she objected. "I'm good."

He chuckled. "You don't lie very well," he commented. "Both of our reaction times sucked in that last episode."

"Nope," she said again, rubbing her eyes. "Mine was just on purpose."

Another chuckle. "Come on. I think this time it really is time for bed."

Harmony sighed. As much as she tried to delay it, she knew she could only delay it for so long. "Okay," she gave in and started the process of shutting down the game along with her recording software.

"I'm glad we were able to do this."

She paused for a moment to look at him. "Me too," she smiled briefly. The end of their time together was so very near.

They both fell silent for a bit as they busied themselves with closing down everything, both saving Skype for last. She looked up at him to start saying those dreadful goodnights, but her voice caught in her throat when she was met with that strange expression on his face again, full of melancholy and something else.

"I miss you," he suddenly stated, the sincerity in his voice lancing through her heart.

"I miss you, too," she replied wholeheartedly. "A lot."

"I don't want to let this much time keep passing without seeing you again," he said firmly. "I'm sorry I let myself get so busy." He paused, but she remained silent. "Can I call you again next Friday night?"

"Yes," Harmony answered at once. "I would love that."

He flashed her another half-smile. "I would, too. I can do that."

"Promise?" she asked. "Last time you didn't-"

"I promise," Mark cut in gently, yet confidently. "You have my word. In fact, I'll call you every Friday. I promise."

She smiled gently. "Okay," she whispered. "Then next Friday I'll be here."

"Me too. Goodnight, Harmony."

"Goodnight, Mark."

The call ended, and for a moment the video feed froze on Mark's tenderly smiling face before it finally shut down. Her eyes lingered on him until it was gone and she gave another soft sigh, pulling off her headphones to leave them on her desk. As her computer shut down she changed into her pajamas, brushed her teeth and practically fell into her bed. She thought of Mark, like she always did these days, and hoped Sasha wouldn't get in the way of him calling her next Friday. She hoped Sasha wouldn't make him break his promise.

But he stayed true to his word. Every Friday night for the next two months he called her just like he said he would. It became something that she looked forward to so much that Fridays became her favorite day. She would refuse to plan anything else those nights just to make sure she was at her computer when he called.

They played games together most of the time, but not always. Sometimes they recorded; other times they played purely for fun. Sometimes they just talked, depending on how much time they had. Sometimes they hung out on Skype for hours; other times it was only for a little while. But no matter what, Harmony cherished every Friday night with him.

She could see, though, that sometimes it was hard for him to make the time for her every Friday night. There were some Fridays when Sasha wanted to go out with him and he had to work in their Skype call either beforehand or afterwards. One night he called so late she had fallen asleep waiting for him and the melody of the call was what jolted her awake. But never once did he fail to call. Just like he promised. She had no idea what he was telling Sasha in order to be available for this without her interrupting, but whatever he was doing was working.

The only downside was how often he'd mention Sasha. He would talk about her all the time; she saw how happy he was, and as much as Harmony hated it, she couldn't really fault him for it. Sasha was his girlfriend. Harmony was not. But every time she saw his smiling face pop up on Skype, she couldn't help but fall in love with him just a little bit more, and every mention of Sasha cut just a tiny bit deeper each time. But she refused to stop. Seeing him in this way was better than nothing at all. The hurt was worth it.

"What do you wanna do tonight?" Mark asked one night.

Harmony leaned back in her chair as she rubbed her eyes. This week had been a rough one on her. One of her fellow columnists up at the office had to take a leave of absence for a family emergency and had been unable to finish his article due at the end of the week. Harmony's boss didn't waste a second reassigning the article to her, on top of her own article that she had already been working on. She was confident she could do it, but that didn't mean she didn't feel the pressure. If she wasn't recording, she was writing. She even had to postpone a visit from Leah because she couldn't afford to stop and hang out. Naturally, Leah had fussed about it and tried to convince her that taking a break was good for her, but Harmony politely declined. The extra work kept her mind busy anyway.

She had turned in her two articles maybe fifteen minutes before Mark called her this evening. She was so thankful for his accidental punctuality.

She adjusted her headphones as she took in the chiseled face and fluffy hair of her best friend. She missed him more than usual today, if that was even possible. Her favorite thing to do after a hard week had once been simply curling up beside him to watch a movie. If he knew her week had been a challenge, he always used to show up at her doorstep with dinner and would let her choose any movie she wanted for them to watch together.

She really wanted that back.

That handsome face she had been idly gazing at tilted slightly to the side with an expression mixed of both slight amusement and some concern. "You're quiet tonight," he remarked lightly, breaking their comfortable silence since she had not answered his question.

Harmony shook her head to try and clear her mind. "Sorry," she replied with a brief chuckle. "Just wiped out. I'm so glad my work is done but it was so mentally draining."

"I believe it." He leaned forward until his elbows were on his desk. "So that means you pick. What should we do tonight?"

An idea suddenly struck Harmony as she looked at him. "How much time do you have tonight?" she inquired.

Mark glanced down at the clock on his computer screen. It was only 8pm. "I'd say up until we're both too tired to keep our eyes open. What're you thinking?"

Maybe she should have thought this idea through, but her heart ran with it before her brain could stop it.

"Come over."

She felt like she was supposed to be sorry for asking him to come over, but she really wasn't. Outside of Skype, she had only seen him once in these past two months, and that was when Ryan invited her out to lunch with them. Their time together, though fun, had been brief and Mark had not stuck around afterwards. He hadn't once helped himself into her apartment like he used to, and the few more times she tried to drop by he was with Sasha.

Was it wrong? Was it wrong to ask to hang out with him now that he had Sasha? She didn't know. What she did know is that she missed her best friend more than anything.

And no one had told her she couldn't see him.

He did not answer immediately as he sat back, running his fingers pensively through his hair. "It has been a while, hasn't it?" he eventually said, gazing upward somewhere above the camera.

"Too long," she remarked softly, eyeing him carefully, suddenly feeling on edge. He was thinking about Sasha. She knew he was.

But then he nodded to himself, as if he had been debating with himself and finally came to a conclusion. "You're right," he said. "It's been way too long. And I think I need to fix that." He gave the camera a quick grin before the video feed froze on her screen and then shut down, signifying the end of the call.

Harmony's heart was pounding wildly as she stared wide-eyed at where Mark's image had been just a second ago.

Finally. After two months. He was coming over.

* * *

 _ **A/N: I'm uploading a few chapters back-to-back to make up for my long absence! I really hope you're enjoying this so far!**_


	17. Seventeen: The Game of Boundaries

In a flash Harmony was out of her chair, the week's fatigue long forgotten, her thoughts running rampant as she tried to wrap her mind around the fact that Mark was actually on his way over here right now. She barely had enough time to change from sweat pants into jeans before she heard his key unlocking her door.

Oh how she had missed that sound.

She was out of her room in an instant, heading down the hall silently. And just like that there he was, standing in her living room in jeans and a blue plaid button-up. He looked more gorgeous now than he ever had before. She came to a stop at the end of the hallway as their brown eyes met.

"Hey, pretty lady," he smiled warmly as he instinctively took a step towards her, but then paused like he had to remind himself to stop. He looked like he wanted to hug her and she wanted him to so badly, but every time she thought about it, Sasha's warning rang out in the forefront of her mind.

"Hey," she replied quietly with a smile in return, reluctantly staying where she was.

He was still smiling at her, though. "I forgot how much more amazing you look in person than you already do on camera," he remarked, his voice a bit lower than usual.

"I told you," she said, "it's been too long."

"Well," he clasped his hands together before turning back to the small stack of movies he must have set on the table as soon as he walked in, "as per our tradition, it's your pick for our first movie. You get settled in and I'll do the rest."

She smiled again as she made her way to the couch. It felt so good to hear him talking about things they used to do together before Sasha came into the picture. Tonight, she just wanted to pretend it was just the two of them. Like it used to be. She plopped down on one end of the couch and curled her legs underneath her giant Doctor Who throw blanket she had left out here at some point last week. He presented to her the movies he had brought over, and after she chose Guardians of the Galaxy he loaded it into her PlayStation. She caught herself as her eyes trailed his every move while his back was turned and forced herself to look away, trying not to blush. She was thankful that only the lamps on the two end tables were on, creating a dimmer atmosphere in the room. He grinned at her when he spun around and made his way to the couch. He didn't sit beside her like he used to, instead choosing the opposite end, and even though she wasn't surprised it still hurt.

They were both silent as the movie started. The tension in the room was so thick she wondered if he could feel it, too, or if it was just her going crazy. She tried her hardest to focus on the movie as the storyline began to unfold, but everything in her mind was revolving around the man on the other end of the couch. She couldn't help it. She stole a glance at him from the corner of her eye. He was sitting comfortably with one leg bent to rest his foot on the opposite knee, one arm on the armrest and the other stretched out along the back of the couch. She could easily touch his hand if she reached her arm out as well.

No. Stop. She tried to rid herself of the notion as she demanded her eyes to stay glued to the tv screen. But then about a quarter of the way into the movie, he finally broke the silence between them.

"Thanks for inviting me over, Harmony. I'm really glad you did. It feels good to hang out again."

Harmony's eyes snapped over to him immediately to find that his eyes were already on her, hints of a half-smile surfacing. "Really?" she responded.

He nodded, and then cleared his throat and shook his head once before meeting her gaze again. "I'm sorry it took this long for me to come over again. I shouldn't have done that."

She regarded him for a bit. "Why did you?" she suddenly questioned. There was no accusation in her tone; only curiosity and a bit of disappointment.

He sighed, and after a moment he scooted a little closer to her, moving to the middle seat and turning his upper body to face her a little better. She brought her knees up to her chest under the blanket, watching him, her heart racing at the solemnity in his movements.

"Sasha told me..." he started slowly, choosing his words carefully, "she told me that our friendship makes her uncomfortable. How close you and I are. She knows we've always been like that, but either way she asked me to pull it back for her. She knows it doesn't mean anything for you and me, but still."

That hurt, too.

"I wanna respect her wishes," he went on. "But you know me, I'm not too good at changing stuff like that and letting things like that go, so I didn't mean to, but I put a little distance between you and me to make Sasha comfortable. But I shouldn't have done that, especially without talking to you about it first. I'm sorry."

The sincerity in his chocolate eyes was almost too much for her to handle. She hated hearing his words out loud, even though she had already figured all that out, but she couldn't help but appreciate him for being up-front about it now. She gave him a little smile. "Thanks," she murmured.

He gave her a reassuring smile. "Thanks for being patient with me while I figure stuff out," he countered as he reached out to pat her arm.

Even in that brief touch, heat seemed to spread through her body from his hand. For a moment she lost her concentration on everything, only subsiding when he pulled his hand away, and at that point there seemed to be a chill from the missing contact.

 _Holy crap. Get a hold of yourself._

He had turned his attention back to the movie, and so she did too, acutely aware that he did not move back to his previous spot, instead staying right where he was. He was so close now but not touching her at all, his arm returning to its position stretched across the back of the couch, just behind her head.

Did he have any idea how much of a tease this was?

Of course not. To him he was just sitting beside his best friend enjoying a movie. That was all this was to him. But for her, it was so much more. So much more. And he had no idea.

Well, all the more reason to just pay attention to the movie. However, this time, the air between them didn't seem quite as tense and she was glad. She hadn't realized how tense her muscles had been until she allowed herself to relax and sink into the couch a little more. Maybe this evening would be good for them. Maybe this could be the beginning of hanging out with each other in person on Friday nights instead of just over Skype. She grinned to herself, and as if it were a tiny sign of reassurance, she felt a soft brush against her hand and glanced down to see that he had moved his arm from the back of the couch down onto the cushion beside her hand, and he had linked his pinky finger with hers for just a moment before he moved his hand into his lap. She glanced over at him, trying not to grin too widely. He didn't look at her but kept his eyes on the movie, but she thought she saw the corner of his mouth lift into a little smirk. She chuckled to herself, too quietly for him to hear, and turned back to the movie again, feeling hopeful. She sat back a little further into the couch, and the last thing she remembered was Rocket forming his plan for their great escape.

She opened her eyes slowly, feeling a bit disoriented at first and her eyelids heavy. She focused on the tv screen first, only to realize the movie had ended and the title screen was looping over and over. She must have fallen asleep, she surmised groggily. She had slumped over at some point and her head had come to rest against something that kept moving faintly up and down. Moving? Everything in her mind came screeching to a halt when she realized what that meant, and when she finally took notice of the hand that was gently playing with the curls in her hair.

Oh.

Oh _no_.

She did _not_ fall asleep on Mark.

Slowly, she shifted her gaze upward without moving her head. Sure enough, she caught sight of plaid and denim. His phone was in his other hand and she could see that he was browsing Facebook. Letting her sleep. Like the sweetheart he was.

Yep. She did fall asleep on Mark.

She could feel her cheeks heating up and she started tensing up to push herself away and start apologizing, but at that very moment she felt the arm that had been behind her start to move down, wrapping around her tightly, almost protectively, and giving her a gentle squeeze before relaxing around her waist, his fingers unconsciously pulling at the belt loop of her jeans because it was always a habit for him to fiddle with whatever his hands found. Her shirt had ridden up a bit whenever she had leaned over in her sleep, and his thumb would occasionally graze her bare skin. It was like fire erupted from the very place he was touching her - whether he was aware of it or not - and it shot through her veins, igniting a heavy sensation in the pit of her stomach. She held her breath to avoid making a sound, frozen stock-still as all of her attention honed in on his touch. She hadn't realized until now much she had missed it, but she never once thought such a little thing would have such an affect on her. She wanted more. She wanted him to be hers.

No. This was her best friend. Who had a girlfriend. And that girlfriend had made it very clear that they shouldn't be this close anymore.

How on earth did they end up so close?

But then fingers joined his thumb, ever-so-lightly stroking her skin as he went on surfing his Facebook app, seemingly oblivious, and dangerously close to just barely slipping beneath her waistband. She couldn't help herself as a soft hum escaped her lips. His hand stopped at once.

"Mark...?" she whispered into the silence between them.

His hand pulled away as if he had just realized what he was doing, traces of heat still left behind from his touch, and he pulled her shirt down for her as he set his phone onto the cushion beside him. "Sorry," he muttered, his voice deeper than usual, almost husky.

She reached over and grasped the fabric of his shirt at his chest, using it as a balance as she pushed herself away just enough to look at him. He was already looking down at her and their gazes met again, his pupils wide, adding even more mysterious depth to his dark eyes. His arm did not move from her waist, keeping her pressed up against him, their faces close.

Why, why were they so close right now?

"Mark," she whispered again, her heart practically pounding out of her chest, forcing herself to keep from looking at his lips. She furrowed her brow. "I thought you said we couldn't..."

He gave her a slight grin as he gave her another squeeze. "I know," he murmured. "But you had a rough week. You needed cuddles. I can make this exception tonight."

She thought her heart was going to burst as it beat so fast, yet hurt so much. She was so close to him, literally so close to him, yet she couldn't have him. She couldn't forget that. She wanted to so bad, but she couldn't let herself do that. She just couldn't.

She ached.

But his face had never been this close to hers before. He was looking so deeply into her eyes she was almost afraid he could see right through her, plaid was still balled up in her fist, and come _on_ , she _had_ to stop stealing glances at his lips. But they were right there...

She saw his hand reach out and he brushed a few strands of blonde away from her face. "What're you thinking?" he wanted to know.

Oh he had no idea. But he was searching her face now, waiting for her to answer.

What could she say?

"What?" he prodded curiously. "I can see the wheels turning in there."

"I just..." She paused, searching for words, biting her bottom lip as she tried to proceed with caution. "I just... I miss this. I miss... us."

He gave a short, humorless chuckle. "Yeah," he murmured, shaking his head. "Me too."

She sighed, bowing her head. "Sorry," she muttered. She felt silly.

But then his hand was under her chin, lifting it until she was looking at him again. "Don't be sorry," he told her gently. "We had really good times, right?"

She felt like she couldn't breathe. Her chest was so tight. "Yeah," she managed to squeak out.

The silence returned as they just sat there staring at each other. It was her worst enemy right now. Her mind could roam free when there were no words. They were so close, and it wasn't helping at all that she just looked at his lips again. Oh _no_ , he just looked at her lips, too! He must have caught her doing it. Oh man, did he know what she was thinking? She needed to move. Right now. She had to get herself out of his arms and away from his mesmerizing stare. She had to reign in her emotions as well as her urges before something got the best of her and then she would be in way too much trouble and then-

Too late.

She captured his lips with her own.

It was like electricity shot through her body, spreading like wildfire from the fierce connection of their lips. In the first instant it felt so right, like two puzzle pieces finally falling together after searching for them for so long... but they weren't exactly fitting perfectly. No, this wasn't right. This wasn't the way it was supposed to be. She swore she felt him start to reciprocate, but that was when she had to pull herself away, jumping to her feet in a flash with her hands clapped over her mouth, leaving him sitting there with a look on his face that she couldn't read at all, except for a trace of hurt that made her ache more than she ever had before.

"Oh my gosh," she cried through her fingers. "I'm so sorry, Mark. I shouldn't have done that. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me." She knew she was rambling, but she couldn't stop, and right now she wanted nothing more than to find _something_ to say that could take that unsettling look off of his face. "It was just the heat of the moment, I didn't realize what I was doing. Really. I never ever meant to-"

"Harmony."

He spoke her name very quietly, yet it still pierced the air and silenced her at once, her eyes wide in sheer embarrassment and fear of what was coming next. She hadn't noticed when he stood from the couch, but that look on his face hadn't gone away and he wasn't making eye contact with her.

"Don't be sorry," he said quietly for the second time. "The fault was mine."

Her heart skipped a beat. "W-what?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "I led you on and I apologize for that. I feel like I've pressured you into thinking that was what I'm here for. And it's not. And I'm sorry for putting you in that position. It shouldn't have happened."

Harmony felt paralyzed. "What?" was all she could utter. How could this possibly have been his fault?

He was grabbing his phone and his keys now, stuffing them into his pockets. "I should go," he mumbled without looking at her.

"No." That kicked her body into action again as she rushed over to him. She reached out to hold onto his arms, but she stopped when he turned to her, suddenly afraid to touch him. She had crossed a very major boundary tonight. She couldn't afford to do it again. She tried to look up at him but she just couldn't bear it. So her gaze came to an uneasy rest on the blue and white pattern of his shirt. "Don't go," she begged, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"I need to, Harmony," he replied, sounding pained.

"But it's not your fault, Mark. It was mine." Her eyes stung.

"No, it wasn't. I should not have put my best friend in that situation, even if it was an accident. We got too close. It wasn't right."

She attempted another glance up at him, but his eyes were wandering anywhere except for her. She was trying desperately not to let tears fall. She wanted to just tell him. She wanted to tell him she was so in love with him she could barely stand it, and that that was why tonight had happened. But she didn't. She couldn't. Their friendship was already in shambles right now. She refused to make it worse.

But she had to say something.

"Please..." she whispered. "I don't want this to change us." A single tear betrayed her anyway and slid down her cheek.

She didn't know whether to smile or cry when his thumb gently brushed it away before it reached her jaw. He gave her a smile that was too sad to ever belong on his face as he finally looked at her with those deep brown eyes that were raging with countless emotions. She waited for him to say something... anything that would give her some hope that they would be okay, regardless of whose fault that stupid kiss was. She didn't care if she had to take a backseat to Sasha for the rest of her life. Right now she just wanted them to be okay. But instead he only leaned forward and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead before he stepped away from her and towards the door.

"Goodnight, Harmony."

No words. No words could get past the lump in her throat as she stood there helplessly and watched him leave, closing and locking the door behind him. She felt the sting of tears again and this time she let them fall silently as she just stood there, mentally screaming for him to come back. She tried so hard to will him back into her apartment so he could envelop her in his strong arms again and tell her that everything would be fine and that they could hang out again soon and talk like nothing happened. But he didn't. She just stood there, letting the tears drip off her chin and onto the carpet at her feet.

From where she stood, she could see the glowing green numbers of the clock on her microwave. 3:16am. Did this mark the time that she lost her best friend?

She cried herself to sleep that night.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Thank you soooooo much for all of the faves and follows! Please leave me a review and let me know how you're liking this! Love you all! 3**_


	18. Eighteen: The Game of Retreating

The next morning found Mark awake earlier than he would have liked. He had a lot of trouble sleeping even though he had gotten home so late. His mind wouldn't stop buzzing. He felt like he was in a strange mood as he finally gave up on trying to get more rest and instead reached for his phone sitting on the nightstand, sifting idly through his apps to entertain himself for a bit before he got up. He settled on Twitter eventually, posting a few tweets that had nothing to do with anything and choosing random replies from fans to respond to. He was in the middle of posting an intentionally awful selfie when a text message popped up at the top of his screen.

 **What in the hell are you up so early for?**

He smirked at Bob's text and tapped on the message to reply.

 **Gotta wake the world up, Bobbo. Tough job but someone's gotta do it.**

Bob's response was swift.

 **Hate to break it to you, buddy, but pretty much everyone here is already awake. Along with probably most of the US. Mandy made sure we were awake with the damn sun today when she planned out our day.**

Mark chuckled. **That just means more of me for the west coast then,** he replied.

 **Well, I'll have none of that when I'm there next month,** Bob retorted.

Mark grinned as he remembered that San Diego Comic Con was next month. His apartment was really going to be jam packed soon because this year all of his friends were coming to town a week early for it, including Jack. That was something he could really look forward to even in this heavy mood he had woken up in.

Before he could reply, Bob texted him again.

 **How's the girly?**

 **Oh Sasha's great. Busy but great.**

 **I meant Harpie but whatever that works too.**

He felt a twinge in his chest as he stared blankly at his friend's message. Bob was just joking. Mark knew he was just joking. Bob had teased him about his best friend ever since she moved down here and he had always been able to take it good-naturedly because he knew this, but today was different. He had been using Twitter, and even Bob himself, to distract himself from thoughts of the previous night, but Bob's last text had only reminded him that it honestly wasn't working. He hadn't been able to shake it off ever since he left her apartment. The twinge cut a little deeper.

He didn't reply to Bob. With a sigh he backed out of the text conversation to the rest of his inbox to find Sasha's name right under Bob's. His lips twitched in a sort of partial smile as he thought of his girlfriend and decided that perhaps sending her a good morning text might help lift his mood. But that was when his eyes trailed further down to Harmony's name that was third down and the twinge came back. The last message between them had been from her yesterday afternoon, apologizing for taking so long to reply to the good morning text he had sent her when he woke up. Instinctively, he tapped on the conversation and the keyboard popped up, waiting for him to compose his message. But his thumb hovered unmoving over the screen.

For the first time since they met, he didn't know what to say to her.

He sighed again, more forcefully this time, locking his phone and tossing it aside as he sat up and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. The memories of last night cascaded over him again in the stillness of his room and for a minute he let them take him.

He shouldn't have gone over to Harmony's place. That was the bottom line. He had known that he wouldn't be able to stay away from her, not after they had been so close for so long. It was second nature, and he was never any good at breaking habits, especially habits that he didn't particularly want to be rid of. But Sasha had asked him to. And he wanted to honor her feelings and her requests more than anything. Integrity was important to him and he always wanted to make sure that he did what he could to uphold it. Yet he had gone over to Harmony's anyway. Against his better judgement, he had given himself the benefit of the doubt, and he thought he could... behave, for lack of a better word. But whenever she was near him, he just couldn't help it. It was only natural for him to curl his arm around her; it was only natural for her head to find a place to rest against his shoulder. And then in the midst of this whole mess, as if he wasn't going to be in enough trouble just by going over there, her mouth had collided with his.

He faintly touched his lips as he thought of what her kiss had felt like. It was passionate and intense; sudden and unpredictable. And the remaining hint of her chapstick on her lips had tasted sweet.

Integrity.

He had been kissed by another woman. There was no way around that. He needed to tell Sasha. This was most definitely not something to keep hidden from his girlfriend. She needed to know. She had the right to know.

...But this hadn't been just any woman that had kissed him. This had been his best friend. Words couldn't describe how much he didn't want to tell Sasha that his best friend, of all people, had kissed him. Sasha already had reservations about his friendship with Harmony. This would just be the nail in the coffin.

Could he really do that to Harmony?

But how could he keep this from Sasha?

What a mess.

He swore quietly under his breath as he snatched up his glasses from the nightstand and headed to the closet to throw on a shirt and basketball shorts. Maybe a workout and some breakfast would help him clear out his mind and think things through a little clearer so he could figure out what to do now.

But, unfortunately, as good as the workout felt, the clouds in his mind still lingered as he returned home from the gym an hour later. Even his shower was twice as long as it usually was in hopes that he might relax under the hot water. But even then, his thoughts just wouldn't settle. It was only 7am when he came back downstairs to get his coffee started since he knew there was no way he would survive this day without it. He was still towel-drying his hair as he climbed down the stairs, dressed now in jeans and a white tee shirt. However, as soon as his bare feet touched down on the carpet floor, his doorbell rang out into the silence of the apartment. He froze momentarily, his eyes locked onto the door as his heart started beating faster. Harmony? No, she had a key. She wouldn't knock... would she?

He wasn't quite ready to see her.

Towel around his neck, he took in a breath and padded over to the door to swing it open. He first caught sight of long black hair and ruby red lips, then spotted the large Einstein Bagels bag. "Hi, baby!" came his girlfriend's excited squeal as her free arm wrapped around him in a flash. He returned the embrace in a slight daze as he tried to recover from his surprise to see her there so early.

"I was hoping you'd already be up and dressed," Sasha remarked as he stepped aside to allow her into the apartment. She headed towards the kitchen table and paused as an afterthought, "I wanted to surprise you with breakfast before you started your games today." She smiled brightly and indicated the bag in her hand, but then took notice that he was still standing at the door, looking a bit befuddled. "You okay, Markie?"

That seemed to snap him out of whatever trance he was in and he shook his head, closing the door the rest of the way. "Yeah, sorry," he mumbled slowly, smiling sheepishly. "Not really sure I'm all the way awake yet."

Sasha set the bag down onto the table and started emptying out its contents. "I bet this will help then," she replied as she pulled out two bottles of orange juice.

She felt him come up behind her and his arms slid around her waist. "Thank you, Sashabear," his deep voice murmured in her ear as he nuzzled her.

She grinned again and spun herself around in his loose embrace to face him. She yanked the towel from his shoulders and tossed it onto the couch so she could freely drape her arms around his neck now that her hands were empty. "There you are," she said softly, tapping the tip of his nose. "Good morning, baby." She leaned in to kiss him.

Even he could feel how rigid he was when she pressed her lips against his. Kissing Sasha had quickly become one of the most familiar things to him over the past few months, but right now all he could think about was Harmony beside him on her couch, his arm around her, her face mere inches from his...

He almost forgot to kiss back. He hoped Sasha didn't notice. But that was just wishful thinking. One of her perfectly shaped eyebrows was inched upward a little when she pulled away from him. "Are you okay, baby?" she asked him again, a little more earnestly this time. She took in the features of his face a little more now that she was much closer to him, and she started to frown. "You look really tired. What's the matter?"

Mark shook his head again and his gaze fell to the floor for a moment as one hand came up to scratch the back of his neck, forcefully blinking a few times to try and rid himself of the mental image of his best friend. "I, uh, I really didn't sleep good last night," he finally admitted.

Sasha's frown deepened. "Oh no, what happened?" she wanted to know. "Did you stay up too late playing games? Or just couldn't sleep?"

"Couldn't sleep," he answered with a shrug. Okay, that was true. "Got caught up in a movie." Okay, that wasn't entirely false, either. But he couldn't bring himself to tell her that he was at Harmony's place. Not yet at least. Sasha hadn't exactly come right out and said he couldn't hang out with Harmony, but he knew she didn't like it when they were alone together. He knew if he told her what happened, Sasha would come unhinged on Harmony. This mess would turn into a disaster, and he really didn't wish that on his best friend.

The guilt set in. But he said nothing more. For now.

Sasha made a sort of worried, disapproving noise as he felt her hand against the side of his face, her thumb lightly stroking his cheek. "I'm sorry, baby," she murmured. "Maybe you can rest today? We can just hang out here and have a lazy day in. It is Saturday, after all."

He closed his eyes for a moment and tilted his head against her hand, trying to focus only on her touch. "I have to record at least a little bit today," he objected. "I'll get behind if I don't."

"So what?" Sasha replied quickly. "I'm sure YouTube will understand if you need a day off."

Mark opened his eyes to meet her gaze. "You know I don't like letting my fans down." He offered her a bit of a smirk. "Just give me coffee and breakfast and I'll be okay."

Sasha sighed as she turned back to the food waiting on the table. "Okay," she gave in, "but you should work in a nap somewhere today, at least."

He merely gave a sort of shrug and a nod as he continued his way into the kitchen to start coffee before taking a seat at the table, grabbing one of the orange juices to take a long swig. She watched him as he dug in to the bagel sandwich she had brought for him, his uncharacteristic silence and distant gaze unsettling to her. She could practically hear the gears turning in his head as he almost seemed lost in his thoughts. She knew now that he was tired, but his mind seemed to be preoccupied by something more than just a lack of sleep. He didn't make a move to get up when a subtle beeping rang out to signify that the coffee was done. So she stood instead and poured cups for the both of them. He thanked her quietly when she set his mug down in front of him, but those wheels were still turning when she sat back down and rested her gaze on him once again. She regarded him with her chin propped up by her elbow.

"You busy solving world hunger over there?" she quipped.

Finally, those chocolate brown eyes shifted from whatever dimension of space they were apparently looking into to meet hers. Another sheepish grin. "Sorry," he muttered.

"Wanna share with the class?" she inquired.

He sat up a little straighter and his gaze wavered from hers for a few moments, but then focused on her again. "It's nothing big," he replied. "Just trying to plan out my recording schedule."

Sasha nodded slowly, but she wasn't quite convinced. Something seemed to be eating at him, she thought. Something he didn't seem too keen on sharing, because she knew he was dedicated to his videos, but simply "planning out his schedule" had never distracted him so badly, especially when they were together. Had he gotten into it with someone? Maybe one of his roommates? Or... She suddenly thought of his best friend who lived just down the next hall.

Had Harmony been over lately?

No, she was sure he would have told her. He didn't really seem like someone who would keep something like that from her.

But then she wondered if maybe she should keep an eye out, just in case that blonde girl tried to cross any lines. She was already too close for comfort as it was. She hoped Harmony was wise enough not to come any closer. There was no room for her here anymore.

* * *

Meanwhile, just down the next hall, a certain blonde had also risen from a sleepless night, strands of hair still clinging to the damp tracks many tears of the earlier hours had left down her cheeks. She sat at her table, staring blankly out at the morning scenery through her window. A gentle summer breeze was rustling the trees and birds were flitting excitedly from branch to branch, but they all remained unseen by her distant brown eyes as she lost herself in her disarrayed thoughts. A mug of hazelnut coffee was nestled in between her hands, but the dark liquid's invigorating heat had cooled a while ago as it sat untouched in her grasp.

Her mind was stuck in a vicious circle, replaying the previous night over and over and finding all of the ways things could have gone differently.

She didn't care what Mark said about it. She hadn't been pressured, nor had she felt led on. She was in her own right mind when she closed the distance between them. She let herself get caught up in the moment and she really kissed her best friend... who had a girlfriend.

That was her own stupid decision. And now she feared the consequences. What did Mark think now? And would she have to face the wrath of Sasha?

Would they recover from this?

The silence of her apartment was pierced by the cheerful jingling of her phone; a sharp contrast to her gloomy mood. She dug her hand into the deep pocket of her robe, her heart suddenly racing even though she knew it wasn't Mark's ringtone.

"Girl," Leah's voice came through before Harmony even had a chance to say hello, "I got your text to call you while I was in the shower. What's going on? Are you okay?"

Harmony opened her mouth, but no words escaped. She didn't know what to say, or even where to start. She didn't know what was going on, and right now she sure didn't feel okay.

"Harmony?"

She sucked in a breath, trying to quell her thoughts enough to pick a place to begin.

"You there?"

Finally, she settled on the quickest attempt to get Leah caught up and swallowed hard.

Like ripping off a bandaid, right?

"I kissed Mark last night," she blurted out, and Leah's voice died in her throat just as she started calling her name again.

The line was silent. Harmony wasn't sure if she had ever before witnessed a speechless Leah. She hung her head and let out a long, quiet sigh, her eyes staring idly into the creamy brown of her tepid coffee.

"I-I'm sorry," the brunette's voice finally came through. "You _what?"_

Harmony closed her eyes and forced herself to say it again. "I..." she cleared her throat, "...I kissed him... last night."

She could literally hear Leah grasping for words to say. "Honey... Um. Doesn't... Doesn't he have a girlfriend?"

"Yes," was her short reply.

"Okay... Are you okay right now? Because you know I am here for you one-hundred percent... but... how in the _hell_ did you end up in a situation like that?"

"I... I asked him to come over last night because it had been so long since I've actually seen him. I just missed him, that was all, I swear! I just wanted to hang out like we used to, but we ended up cuddling..." The tears were threatening again. "I swear to you I didn't mean for it to happen, it just did. And it had been so long since we've been so close... I guess I just couldn't help it. I didn't even realize until it was too late how bad I messed up. I feel so awful... and I'm just so sorry..." She trailed off as a few tears slid down her cheeks.

"Girl, slow down," Leah cut in quickly. "I'm not totally clear on what exactly happened. Can you give me a play-by-play here?"

Slowly, Harmony retold the story of the night in which she feared had changed her friendship with Mark forever. Tears were streaming steadily by the time she finished. Leah had listened patiently, refraining from interrupting like she often tended to do. Harmony could tell that her friend understood the weight all of this pressing on her heart.

"I'm sorry you're dealing with this," Leah spoke after letting several moments of silence pass. "I don't want you to keep beating yourself up over this, though. You made a mistake. People make mistakes."

"How do I get past this, though?" Harmony asked. "I can't stop thinking about the look on his face when he left. I'm so afraid that I messed everything up."

"Unfortunately, I don't know anything about that." Leah's voice was gentle. "The only thing you can do is wait. But Mark has always seemed like a pretty rational person. I think he'll move past this. I just don't know anything about his girlfriend..."

Harmony scoffed. "She doesn't like me as it is. She's going to hate me when she finds out. I'm surprised she isn't pounding on my door already. He hasn't texted me or anything yet this morning, either..."

"Just give him some time, honey," Leah advised. "He has to come to terms with this just like you do. And it sounds to me like he doesn't know what he's doing if he allowed the cuddling to happen. I think he's still adjusting his friendship with you to his girlfriend's liking and I'm sure kissing him threw it all out of whack for him. If he's upset, give him the space to calm down. And as long as his girl isn't banging on your door, then I would take that as a good sign." She took in a breath. "You just need to be careful around him now, Harmony. Like really. You can't let your feelings take charge, especially when he has a girlfriend. That is seriously dangerous territory and I know you're not that kind of person. I know it was a mistake last night, but you can't let it happen again."

Harmony closed her eyes and nodded, mostly to herself since Leah couldn't see. "I know," she whispered shakily. "I just... wish I had been in better control the first time. I was hoping we could start hanging out again. I miss him so bad..."

"I know you do. But I just don't think that's a good idea right now. For now, just focus on moving past this. It was a mistake. Learn from it and move forward. Work on you for a while. Make your videos and write your articles like the awesome girl you are. Okay?"

"Okay," she murmured, her shoulders sagging. She had wanted so badly to feel better after talking to Leah like she usually did. But somewhere amongst the raging thoughts in her mind, she knew this wasn't something that Leah could really fix or shed any light on. It was a mistake that she had made. She had to own up to that and move on. And regardless of how much she loved Mark and wanted to be in Sasha's place, as long as Sasha was around she couldn't. She was the friend on the sidelines. That was her place and she needed to make sure she stayed there. And because she loved Mark so much it hurt, she silently made a promise to him that she would not make this mistake again if she were to be blessed with a second chance at their friendship. Because having Sasha as his girlfriend and keeping Harmony as his friend was what seemed to make him happy.

And when it came down to it, she wanted him to be happy.

Even if she was not.

* * *

 ** _A/N: Holy crap, guys, sorry again for the delay! Thank you all so much for your likes and reviews. They are always such a happy surprise when I see them pop up. Thank you so muchhhhhh!_**


	19. Nineteen: The Game of Escaping

Over the next few days, Harmony chose not reach out to Mark per Leah's advice. She wanted to more than anything, but her apprehension overpowered her desire to talk to him every time she picked up her phone to text him. He had been silent on his end as well, which only fed her trepidation. She wanted so much to just talk to him and find some reassurance that they were okay. She didn't know where she stood with him anymore, and she was afraid of crossing any more lines.

But she gave him space.

She gave a grunt of determination as she pressed her weight against her overflowing suitcase, both hands splayed out across the fabric's pink and blue polka dots. Finally, something shifted inside and she saw the opportunity to grab that zipper and pull it closed before its contents exploded all over the bed. She really didn't pack that much. Her bigger suitcase had broken the last time she traveled, leaving her with only her smaller one because she forgot all about replacing the bigger one until she opened her closet last night to start packing. She felt accomplished as she stepped back from the suitcase on her bed with her hands triumphantly on her hips.

Today she was finally doing something to celebrate her 3 million subscribers. Several viewers had suggested that she take a road trip to some nearby attraction since she was not from California. She thought that was a brilliant idea, but of course she had to plan something like that in advance. So she had announced her plan to her viewers in a thank-you vlog and let them know she would be able to leave in a few weeks once she prerecorded more videos and finished the next article with Dani that was due to her boss. So today was the day. Having the luxury of mostly working from home gave her the opportunity to travel during the week where the roads and tourist spots were a little less crowded. She had chosen to drive up to Yosemite and stay a night there. She had been in the mood for someplace peaceful and she had heard the hikes there were beautiful. She was also taking her camera to record the trip and make a video out of it. She was pretty sure her fans were just about as excited as she was.

But she had chosen not to go alone. She had invited the boys to join her since none of them were from California, either, and she felt that going with friends would make it even better. Matt and Ryan jumped at the invitation when she texted them, and she had told them that Mark was invited, too, but no one had said a word about whether he was joining them or not. She couldn't decide whether to expect him or not. Under normal circumstances, she would be confident that he would be right beside her. But now she wasn't sure if he would be interested after her fiasco three nights ago, or if Sasha would even let him go at all.

So, underneath her excitement, nervousness prevailed.

She grabbed the handle of her suitcase and lugged it off the bed to wheel it down the hall. The boys would be here any minute. She just didn't know if there would be two or three of them. But it turned out she didn't have to wait long. She had barely gotten into the living room when a multitude of knocks reverberated through her apartment. She glanced at the clock. 9am. Right on time.

She didn't realize she was holding her breath until she grasped the doorknob and swung the door open, her eyes wide and hopeful.

Two. There were two at her door.

Matt and Ryan barreled in immediately, dropping their bags just inside the door to envelop her in a group hug so massive it somehow felt like there were more than just the three of them there. Harmony squealed in delight, her excitement growing to mask the disappointment that she wished wasn't there.

"So good to see you guys!" she exclaimed. "I've been waiting for this for ages!"

"Thanks for inviting us," Ryan spoke up as he and Matt stepped away to give her some air.

"Of course!" Harmony replied, reaching back to grab the handle of her suitcase and pulling it up beside her. "There's no better way to take a road trip than with my favorite guys!" But of course, she couldn't help but glance past them out the front door that still hung open, hoping in vain that the shuffling she heard in the hallway was the sound of her best friend, the missing third of her favorite guys rushing in last minute, duffel bag in hand and wide grin on his face. But it was only her neighbor passing by, dressed in a suit, briefcase in hand, late for work.

Matt cleared his throat as he regarded the distant look in her brown eyes. "Oh um... Harmony... Mark can't make it... Sorry..."

"Oh," she murmured. But then she turned to him to give him a smile, swallowing back her disappointment. She shrugged. "Well, that's okay. I know he's busy." Her smile grew a little bigger. "I'm just really glad you guys are here."

And she was.

Maybe this was for the best. Maybe it was best for her to just get away for a short time; away from her apartment, away from LA, away from her best friend. Maybe it would be good to step out from the inside for a day to reset and let the dust settle from the chaos of these past few months.

She really was truly grateful that Matt and Ryan were here.

She felt a big hand squeeze her shoulder reassuringly. She looked up to see Ryan smiling at her. "You ready?" he asked.

She mirrored his expression and gave a confident nod, but then spun around instinctively at a rustling sound behind her to find that Matt had already found her camera bag and had dug out her GoPro, flipping it on to start recording immediately.

Dang, he was fast.

"Now we're ready!" Matt exclaimed, adjusting a few of the settings. "Good morning, Harpie and Ryan!" He waved enthusiastically.

Ryan was waving like an idiot to the camera. Harmony laughed and couldn't help but join him. "You don't have to man the camera, Matt," she told him. "I can do it."

"Screw that," he countered. "This is your video for your milestone. You can't be behind the camera the whole time. Your fans wanna see you."

Harmony's expression grew soft as she smiled in appreciation. "Thank you."

"Let's go already!" Ryan insisted and they filed out of her apartment, bags and suitcases in hand.

This was going to be good. Harmony needed it to be good.

They ventured into Yosemite National Park as soon as they arrived, embarking on one of the hiking trails there that led them near some of the park's breathtakingly gorgeous waterfalls. Matt had Harmony's GoPro at the ready before they had even gotten out of the car. Harmony made sure to greet her viewers at the beginning of their hike, thanking them for both the milestone she had achieved as well as the idea for a road trip. But right after introducing KidsWithProblems to the camera, they were off on their trail, and any footage after that was planned to be candid for the time being.

They paused about 45 minutes into their hike when they found a clearing on the side of the trail where they could take a breather and open up the picnic-type lunches they had brought in their backpacks. Large logs and a few boulders had been arranged in a sort of circle here where she could tell people stopped often for breaks. There was a large tree stump at one end that seemed to command authority from its place rooted deeply in the ground. She imagined that the leader of a hiking group or a squad would sit there where they could instruct the others as they rested or ate, sitting a little higher than the others due to the soft slope of the terrain. This even seemed like a good place for a campfire, too, if there was a fire pit here.

Their conversations were light and comfortable as they ate. Harmony tried to immerse herself in the moment and this time with her friends. They had her laughing constantly, and it felt good to be this jovial for a change. It was a great distraction. If only it helped her to forget as well.

Several times she caught herself thinking about Mark, wondering what he was doing right now, or what he might be doing now if he had come with them. She wondered if it was strange to him at all that three of his closest friends were out on a trip without him, or if he even noticed at all with Sasha around. Or was it now only two of his close friends here now thanks to her stupid stunt she pulled?

"So tell me." Matt's voice snapped Harmony out of her thoughts with a start to find her lanky friend's gaze cast upward towards the tree line that bordered the west side of their resting spot. He chewed thoughtfully on his sandwich. Ryan was gazing over at him from across the clearing, an eyebrow arched in interest. Somehow she knew Matt was talking to her.

"How come we never see you anymore?" The pleasant expression on his face told Harmony that he was not asking out of hurt or anger, instead out of curiosity, but the question still struck her so fiercely that she stopped chewing. Ryan's other eyebrow had inched up to join the first in anticipation as his dark eyes shifted to her.

She gulped down her bit of food to free her mouth and shifted awkwardly in her seat, feeling a bit uneasy as she thought of Sasha, of Mark, and of the mess she had made. She was grateful Matt had chosen not to keep the camera recording during lunch.

"Well," she started slowly, unconsciously running a few fingers through her blonde curls, "it's been kind of hard to lately... with Sasha and everything..." She trailed off lamely.

"Figures," Ryan muttered under his breath as he finished off the last of his sandwich.

"Did she say something to you?" Matt wanted to know.

"She... She doesn't really like me," she explained awkwardly. "She likes me to keep a distance from Mark."

"Oh, that doesn't really surprise me," Matt sighed as he leaned back a little, the heels of his hands supporting him. "Sasha's a character, for sure." He shrugged. "I mean, she's all right, I guess. She takes some getting used to, but she's not anyone I'd ever imagine Mark going for. But... she makes him happy, so opposites attract, I guess. But that's really shitty of her to be like that to her boyfriend's best friend."

"We miss you," Ryan put in. "Maybe we'll just have to come visit you more often instead."

Harmony gave a soft chuckle. "I would like that," was her sincere reply.

Matt was nodding in agreement, but then suddenly scoffed. "She's just intimidated by Girliplier," he decided.

Harmony ignored the pang in her chest that nickname had started to cause her. Instead she rolled her eyes like she always did, pulling one corner of her mouth into a sort of exasperated smirk. Playing the part. "There is no Girliplier," she forced herself to say.

Because there wasn't.

"Well, there should've been," Ryan remarked as they began to pack up their belongings. "Harmony trumps Sasha any day."

She kept her head down as she cleaned up her area, trying her hardest to keep either of the guys from seeing the heaviness she felt as Ryan's words made her remember what she had with her best friend, and the unanswered question of whether or not they ever could have been anything more if Sasha was never there, and the wish made in vain for him to be hers.

It still hurt.

She only raised her head when it was time to leave their rest area, when she had her emotions hidden away again. But when she turned back to the trail, Ryan was standing right beside her, regarding her with a look on his face that clearly told her that he had seen something in her façade. He held her gaze and opened his mouth to question her, but that was right when Matt jumped in between them, GoPro in hand once again.

"Come on, Miss 3-Million!" he exclaimed. "We got trails to dominate before sunset!" He headed back over to the dirt path.

 _Thank you, Matt._

Harmony shot Ryan a look of apology that she didn't really mean before she broke out into a grin and bounded after Matt. "Come on, Ryan!" she called over her shoulder.


	20. Twenty: The Game of Revelations

They spent the rest of their day hiking up as high as they could go before they knew they had to turn back to avoid heading down in the dark. Harmony was having the time of her life, though this hike was strongly reminding her that she was a bit out of shape. They trekked the sloping trail that was "nature's staircase" up to the top of Vernal Falls until the rock formations that made up the steps became too steep for their comfort. So they headed back down without making it to the very top, but that was okay. None of them were disappointed. Their joy had been in the journey and companionship instead of the destination. Matt, of course, had the GoPro recording almost the entire time. Harmony had snatched it from him at one point when she started teasing him about something he had said earlier, but Ryan lifted it out of her hands shortly after, reminding her that she was the star of the video, which drew out a giggle from her, accompanied by a light punch to his shoulder. To her relief, Ryan showed no signs of recalling their uncomfortable little exchange back at their rest area, and Harmony wanted to ensure it stayed that way. Though she was undoubtedly having fun, it was hard enough trying to keep Mark off of her mind, and the last thing she wanted was for Ryan to get curious again and try to pry information out of her about "Girliplier."

 _Ugh, stop using that nickname. It's nothing. It was always nothing._

The sun was setting by the time they reached the car. Their legs and feet were complaining and they still had several things planned for tomorrow before they headed home. So they decided to grab a quick bite for dinner before calling it a day and getting some rest. Clusters of twinkling stars had begun to dot the clear, velvety night sky when they pulled up to the cabin they were renting for the night.

The cabin was small and quaint because it was unnecessary for them to spend more money on a bigger one when none of them really needed that much space, but it was gorgeous. Fully furnished, the front door led right into a living space with a mahogany coffee table and a futon, and a tv mounted on the opposite wall. The room then gave way to a second area in the back where two queen sized beds sat against opposite walls. The lights in the cabin all resembled lanterns and pale moonlight still spilled inside through the wide windows along all of the walls. The sweet scent of pine was strong in the air.

Harmony had offered to take the futon and let the guys have the two beds, but that only created quite an uproar as Ryan and Matt both insisted that it was "only right" for the lady to have a bed for herself. Then they debated between themselves on who got the bed over a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors that went on long after the winner had been decided. Matt was taking the futon.

Pajamas on and teeth brushed, Harmony fell into the soft mattress of her bed for the night and reveled in the relief of finally getting off of her feet for the day. A soft, satisfied smile played on her lips as her mind reviewed the events of the day, laughing and traveling and having a great time with two of her really good friends. She wished they were staying longer than just one night. She wasn't ready to go home tomorrow evening.

Home. Immediately, her thoughts turned to Mark and her smile faltered. No matter how much fun she was having, she just couldn't deny the fact that she still missed him, could she? She instinctively reached over and grabbed her phone to check it for the first time in several hours. Nothing from him. Of course not. She wasn't surprised, but that didn't help soften the letdown. The desire to talk to him right now was at its strongest. But she didn't want to talk to him about the blunder she had made between them. She just wanted to talk with him like they used to about everything and nothing. She wanted to call him like he had every night while he was at PAX East. She could see herself putting him on speakerphone so all three of them could make fun of him for being a loser and not coming along with them. Then they would kick Matt and Ryan off the call to chat with each other about whatever until one of them fell asleep. That hadn't been an uncommon thing when one of them went out of town back before everything had changed.

She surfaced from her thoughts when her eye caught on to the darkness that suddenly enveloped the front room.

"Goodnight, Matt," Ryan and Harmony both chimed, almost in unison.

"'Night," came the drowsy, drawn out reply from the dark room.

"He's got the right idea," Ryan mumbled as he reached over from his place on his bed to switch off the overhead light, leaving only his lamp and Harmony's lamp to bathe the room in a soft orange hue. He glanced over at her and she offered him a bit of a smile as she idly surfed through her Twitter app. "Not tired yet?" he ventured a guess.

She gave a little shrug. "Just winding down, I guess," she answered. "Excited about tomorrow." While that was true, that was most definitely not what was keeping her mind buzzing.

Ryan chuckled. "Good," he said, "I'm glad you're having fun. You've seemed a little stressed out lately. It's good to get away a little bit."

Harmony sighed. "That obvious, huh?" She smiled humorlessly.

Ryan, who had been leaning back against the headboard, now sat up to make eye contact with her across the room. "Wanna talk about it?" he offered.

 _Most definitely not_ , she thought, but that sounded a little too harsh so instead she shook her head. "I'm okay. Just a lot going on." _Just as long as you don't say anything about-_

"Have you talked to Mark today?" he asked thoughtfully.

 _Dang it, Ryan_. She pursed her lips and only shook her head again.

"Hmm," was his response. Then after a moment he shrugged. "He's been weird these past few days. Not sure why. Talking to you usually cheers him up, though. I'm surprised he hasn't called you."

She felt that familiar twinge again and she forced a smile. "Well, he has Sasha now," she pointed out, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice.

Ryan grumbled under his breath, but she couldn't make any of it out. She didn't dare ask him to repeat himself, planning for the companionable silence that drifted in between them to extinguish the subject matter. And it seemed to work, so she let her gaze fall back to her illuminated phone screen... until she heard bare feet on the hardwood floor and felt his weight settle into the foot of her bed. Her eyes wide, she could practically hear her heart beating as she looked up at him. Her phone screen dimmed, leaving them in the lamp's iridescence.

"If this is none of my business, tell me," he began, "but... are you guys okay? I mean... I know Sasha kinda came in and made things a little different, but... I don't know. Maybe I'm just being an idiot, but it's like I can feel tension when it comes to you guys lately. Mark wouldn't even tell me why he couldn't come out with us today. I mean, I kind of figured Sasha had something to do with it because that seems to be how she is, but why not just say that? I just don't like seeing close friends turn away from each other. It may be nothing. I may be totally wrong. But I just wanted to ask."

Harmony let his words drift off into the stillness of the cabin as she stared at him, her brown eyes locked with his, searching for words but coming up completely empty handed. She could hear crickets outside, and an occasional breeze rustling the tall pines' branches.

"Harpie," he urged, his voice down several notches to an almost-whisper as he scooted closer to her. "I know that look on your face. What's wrong? Do I need to talk to Mark? Or tell Mark to talk to Sasha?"

"No!" she hissed, her hands waving frantically to emphasize her exclamation. "No, don't do that."

"Okay, okay! I won't!" He held her arms gently to calm her as he glanced over his shoulder, listening for a moment for any signs of Matt waking up. When he turned back to her, her wide eyes were still staring at him. But he heaved a resigned sigh, letting his hands slide down her arms until he was grasping both of her hands. "Sorry," he murmured. "I don't want to push or pry into anything that's not my business. It just seemed like earlier today one of us had said something that seemed to upset you a little. I just really wanna make sure you're okay. But I'm here if you wanna talk." He gave her a brief, lopsided smile and gave her hands a squeeze before he let go, turning to make his way back across the room.

Harmony felt all kinds of awful as she watched him move away from her, the air suddenly feeling empty where he had just been, and remorse plummeted into the pit of her stomach like an anvil. She knew he wasn't trying to guilt-trip her. That wasn't how Ryan was. He was simply genuinely concerned for her wellbeing and she felt guilty for shutting down on him. Maybe she needed to talk right now after all; maybe it was good to open up to a different set of ears tonight, and Ryan was right here, more than willing to listen and to help.

"Ryan, wait."

He spun around swiftly, his eyebrows raised in acknowledgement, his undivided attention all on her.

She struggled to maintain eye contact with him, her mind already reeling at all of the possible outcomes of this impending conversation. She took in a slow, deep breath and pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. "Sit with me."

Wordlessly, he took a seat on the edge of the mattress as close to her as possible without invading her personal space. The crickets chirped on in their symphony as silence between them stretched on. She thought she might have heard a frog or two out there as well.

"I'm sorry," she murmured after what felt like hours to her. "You're right." Another deep breath. "Things are really different between Mark and I right now. It's been a hard few months."

"Because of Sasha?" Ryan guessed.

Harmony let her gaze fall away from him and drift uneasily into the shadows beyond the glow of her lamp. "She's a big part of it, yeah," she admitted delicately.

"Telling you to back off and stuff?" he encouraged with a nod.

"Yeah..."

Ryan frowned. "I feel like I hear a 'but' in there somewhere," he remarked. "What else did she do?"

Harmony was chewing her bottom lip. "It's not really what else she did, it's just... It's just her even being here. With Mark. I just... I don't want them to be... together. Finding out about her just... killed me. I didn't want that at all. I... I want..." She cut herself off with an aggravated sigh, raking a hand through her hair in her frustration at words. Why was it so hard to just come right out and say it to him? Was it perhaps because he was also very close friends with Mark? Was she nervous?

 _Just say it._

But as she drug her eyes back up to meet his, the look of gentle understanding in his expression made her realize that she might not have to.

"Harmony, do you have feelings for Mark?"

Her breath hitched. His soft words spoken so quietly rang in her ears so harshly that she felt like Matt should have woken up from the sound. She could feel her face heating up and suddenly felt it was impossible to look him in the eye. But then she felt a large hand wrapping around one of her own, gently pulling it away from its place around her knees to hold it properly, offering empathy and comfort. And her silence answered for her.

"How long?" came Ryan's next question.

Her gaze settled on her hand in his. "Longer than I've even known, I think. But... it finally all came together for me while he was gone for PAX. And by then he was already... seeing Sasha."

"I'm really sorry," he whispered sincerely. "Does Mark know?"

"No," was her swift reply, but then she hesitated. "I don't think so... I'm not sure... Oh my gosh, I hope not." She cringed. "I'm having enough trouble holding it together as it is. He just can't know... not with Sasha... She already hates me. And there's no way he could feel like this towards me... I've been trying so hard not to lose my best friend, but so many things are working against me and sometimes I just feel helpless..." Her throat tightened with a multitude of emotions and she closed her eyes, chewing her bottom lip again to try and hold them all back. This was a mini vacation for her. She wasn't supposed to feel sad on vacation.

She felt Ryan pull on her hand and she straightened her knees to allow him to guide her into his arms in a warm embrace. "I'm sorry, Harmony," he said again as his hand trailed soothingly up and down her back. "I can't imagine how tough these last few months have been for you."

Harmony remained silent, her voice lost for the time being, as if it had decided on its own accord that she had said enough. She simply held onto him tightly.

"I wish I knew what was going through Mark's head," he went on, "but unfortunately, I don't think I know any more than you do about Sasha or anything like that. But..." He paused, pulling away to sit her upright just enough to get a good look at her, "we can hope that Mark will come to his senses one day and realize that you're better than Sasha could ever be, and that he was an idiot for ever passing you up."

Slowly, a smile crept timidly across her face, which made Ryan smile, too.

"Thanks, Ryan," she mumbled.

"Anytime, Harpie. Thank you for telling me. I really hope you two can get through this okay. If there is ever anything at all I can do to help, I'll do it." He leaned forward to leave a light, friendly kiss on the top of her head. "Sleep well. Tomorrow is going to be just as epic as today was." He grinned at her as he stood again to head back to his side of the room.

"Ryan?" she called one more time. She waited until he turned to look at her again. "Please don't tell Mark. Or anyone." Then she reconsidered. "Besides Matt. Please."

"Don't worry, Harpie," he reassured her. "I got you." With one more smile he turned to finally head to bed.

Harmony let herself fall back into her own bed, reaching over to turn off her lamp as Ryan did the same to finally allow the darkness of midnight to swallow the room. She burrowed herself into the blankets and laid there for a while, idly making out shapes and outlining different objects as her eyes slowly adjusted to the dark. Though none of her problems had been solved, she did feel a little better now that she had opened up a little to Ryan. She was happy to have the slight tension between them lifted now that she wouldn't be spending so much energy on pretending that she wasn't struggling with life right now. She was thankful to have Ryan's support in this situation and to have someone she could go to whenever Leah couldn't come around, and now she was fairly confident that neither Matt nor Ryan would keep using that nickname they had given her so casually. Now they both would know that it meant something to her, and that it went a lot deeper than they ever thought it would.

With a soft sigh she rolled over, her eyes growing heavier and heavier as slumber finally beckoned to her. She was only a moment away from falling asleep when a sudden vibrating jolted her back to consciousness. Her eyes snapped open to find her phone glowing vibrantly from its place on the nightstand. She frowned as she clumsily grabbed for it, wondering who in the world was texting her so late. She turned the screen towards her and squinted to let her eyes focus, but then her heart started pounding when she read her best friend's name. She bolted upright in a flash as she unlocked her phone to display the message.

It was only a picture; an absolutely ridiculous selfie of his that he had turned into a silly meme. And instinctively she had to stifle a giggle in spite of her shock. It was something they used to do often, especially before she moved down here. They would take silly photos of themselves and add that trademark white block text to it to transform it into a meme. They would end up sending several back and forth until it turned into a competition to see whose was the funniest of the day. His memes always made her laugh, but she had to admit she was darn good at it, too. It tapered off a little once she moved and they saw each other everyday, but the occasional meme would still slip into an occasional text, usually when she least expected it. And a time like now was the biggest surprise of them all.

She could only sit and stare at Mark's image on her screen, her mind wide awake all over again, running so fast she could hardly catch a thought as she tried to decipher what this meant, if anything. She would have never guessed she would hear from him in any form, not after being silent so long after her bright idea to kiss him. She was positive that he was upset with her and she didn't blame him. Did he forgive her? Were they okay after all?

Should she reply?

It took her longer than she wanted to admit before she moved again. Her screen had fallen dark long ago, leaving her sitting in the shadows as she tried to figure out what to do. Part of her felt pretty silly for fussing over a simple text, but right now this seemed crucial to her to respond appropriately with their friendship seeming skittish, like it was a grazing deer that she didn't want to startle. She didn't want to make a wrong move.

Eventually she settled on a simple reply, **LOL! Man I haven't seen those in forever! Good times!** Reading it countless times before sending it, she laid back again, wondering if he would reply again until sleep finally claimed her.


End file.
